New Report Shows Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Areas Spend More on Healthcare Than Medicare Advantage Enrollees
WASHINGTON — Fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries who live in rural areas spend 49 percent more than on health care premiums and out-of-pocket costs than Medicare Advantage enrollees. According to new data released today by Better Medicare Alliance (BMA), Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in rural areas save more on health care costs and are more likely to utilize preventative services, such as mammograms and annual wellness visits, than those enrolled in FFS Medicare.
BMA, the nation’s leading research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage for the more than 33 million beneficiaries it serves, commissioned ATI Advisory to research the patient experiences across Medicare Advantage and FFS Medicare for beneficiaries who live in rural areas. Since 2010, Medicare Advantage enrollment quadrupled in rural areas. Today, more than 40 percent of Medicare eligible seniors in rural areas choose Medicare Advantage for their healthcare coverage.
“Seniors living in rural areas face unique health care challenges – access and affordability should not be among them. These findings from ATI Advisory advance the discussion around rural healthcare and contribute to better understanding how affordability and access to preventative care allow rural beneficiaries to benefit from Medicare Advantage,” said Mary Beth Donahue, president and CEO, Better Medicare Alliance.
“To ensure access to high-quality, affordable health care for Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas, we must look carefully at how programs can most effectively address the unique needs and barriers to treatment they face,” said Representative Adrian Smith (R-NE), member of the Committee of Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Health. “This analysis provides valuable data on the positive outcomes, particularly greater utilization of preventive care and fewer outpatient visits, for rural Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage.”
“Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas deserve access to high-quality, affordable health care,” said Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL), member of the Committee of Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Health. “These findings demonstrate progress in enhancing consumer choice and lowering costs for rural seniors.”
In the last six years alone, the average number of plans being offered to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in rural areas tripled. This growth, in combination with innovative services like telehealth, means seniors in rural areas have broader access to quality, affordable care.
The data offers five key takeaways on rural beneficiary experiences and characteristics across Medicare Advantage and FFS Medicare:
- Cost: Medicare Advantage enrollees are half as likely to be burdened by their health care costs as those in FFS Medicare in rural areas.
- Satisfaction: Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are more likely to report satisfaction with the ease of getting to the doctor than those in FFS Medicare. Overall, Medicare Advantage and FFS Medicare enrollees in rural areas report similar rates of positive health care experiences.
- Preventive Care: Medicare Advantage enrollees are more likely to report using key preventative care services, such as receiving mammograms and annual wellness visits, and are less likely to report having an outpatient visit than those in FFS Medicare.
- Demographics: In rural areas, Medicare Advantage enrollees are nearly three times as likely to be Black and more likely to be Latino than those in FFS Medicare.
- Enrollment: Individuals living in rural areas benefit from an average of 27 Medicare Advantage plans from which to choose.
Read the full analysis here and infographic here.
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Better Medicare Alliance is a community of more than one million grassroots beneficiaries and 200+ ally organizations working to improve health care through a strong Medicare Advantage. Learn more at www.bettermedicarealliance.org.