BETTER MEDICARE ALLIANCE APPLAUDS CMS ON THE RELEASE OF MEDICARE ADVANTAGE BOOKLET
Washington, D.C. – Better Medicare Alliance (BMA) President and CEO Allyson Y. Schwartz released the following statement recognizing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for releasing a new educational booklet, “Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans” for Medicare beneficiaries that provides important information on Medicare Advantage:
“We applaud CMS for making available a new educational booklet – in both English and Spanish – that offers beneficiaries concise, fair, and complete information about the choice of Medicare Advantage and about the basic choice they have between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries when enrolling in coverage.
“As the leading voice on Medicare Advantage, we know that beneficiaries face many challenges when making sense of their options as they enroll in Medicare coverage. Survey data from 2018 shows that 58% of seniors on Traditional Medicare say they do not understand the difference between FFS Medicare and Medicare Advantage; 55% of Traditional Medicare beneficiaries are unfamiliar with the Medicare Advantage option; and 60% of seniors in Medicare Advantage did not know about the option of Medicare Advantage at first enrollment.
“These statistics reflect a significant knowledge gap among beneficiaries about their coverage options. While CMS has a wide array of educational materials available on Traditional Medicare and Medigap, we are pleased that CMS now has offered an informational booklet on Medicare Advantage particularly designed for beneficiaries.
“CMS’ booklet is a positive step forward in building greater awareness and understanding about Medicare Advantage, and equipping beneficiaries with vital coverage information. When beneficiaries are informed, they feel empowered to make active choices about their care. We look forward to working with CMS to continue building on this progress to educate and conduct outreach that fairly and completely informs beneficiaries about their options for coverage under Medicare”
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To download or order “Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans” guide from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, visit: https://www.medicare.gov/Publications