Medicare Advantage Premiums Expected to Be Mostly Unchanged in 2016

The agency also said premiums for Medicare’s prescription drug program will be “stable” next year, with the average premium costing $32.50 per month.

Medicare Advantage enrollment is expected to increase next year for the sixth straight year, and grow to cover 32% of Medicare beneficiaries, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Monday. About 34 million individuals are now enrolled in traditional Medicare coverage (Modern Healthcare, 9/21).

While federal rules prevent insurers from discussing their 2016 Medicare Advantage plans publicly before October, a Medicare website offers a limited preview.

“Seniors and people with disabilities continue to experience stable premiums in Medicare health and drug plans while benefiting from a transparent and competitive marketplace”, said Sean Cavanaugh, CMS deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicare. Although premium growth for total Medicare payments to reinsurance plans has tripled, per-Medicare enrollee spending growth is “historically low”, according to CMS.

The average drug deductible for 2016 Medicare Advantage plans is $162.67, 25 percent higher than the 2015 average deductible of $129.87.

CMS also noted that the quality of Medicare Advantage plans is on the rise, as measured by its five-star system. These $0 premium health care plans are enormously popular with Medicare beneficiaries, many of whom live on a fixed income.

Out of the nation’s 55 million Medicare beneficiaries, almost one-third of the enrollees have chosen the Advantage program. This is a significant increase from an estimated 17 percent of enrollees back in 2009.

So far, program officials have not discussed the reasons for the decline but they have given numbers showing an nearly 10% decline in Medicare Advantage premiums since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010.

“Quality in Part D continues to be robust, with close to 50 percent of prescription drug plans receiving four or more stars”. In addition, CMS released today new information that shows that millions of seniors and people with disabilities with Medicare continue to enjoy prescription drug discounts and affordable benefits as a result of the Affordable Care Act.