Better Medicare Alliance Encourages Action to Fix Medicare Plan Finder Challenges

Washington, D.C. – Better Medicare Alliance, a community of more than 400,000 beneficiaries and over 140 ally organizations supporting Medicare Advantage, responded today to continued reports of beneficiary difficulties with Medicare Plan Finder.

Reports in Los Angeles Times, Inside Health Policy, and others detail how Plan Finder emphasizes plans’ monthly premium costs while providing less transparency on total out-of-pocket expenses. Additional reporting in outlets such as ProPublica raises concerns of “miscalculations” on the site that lead to inaccurate information.

“While CMS made many positive changes with their redesign of the Medicare Plan Finder site earlier this year, it is clear that more work remains to be done,” said Allyson Y. Schwartz, President and CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance. “We share the agency’s goal of a simplified, easier-to-navigate Medicare Plan Finder tool, but this must not come at the expense of full, upfront information on total out-of-pocket costs associated with each plan option.”  

Schwartz concluded, “Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, and indeed all Medicare enrollees, deserve to be active choosers in their health coverage; making informed decisions based on a complete set of facts. We encourage CMS to act quickly to rectify lingering challenges with the site before the open enrollment period concludes.”  

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