WASHINGTON, D.C. – Matt Eyles, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), issued this statement following the release of a new executive order that will offer more flexibility that will allow Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to develop more coverage choices for seniors and people with disabilities:
“More than 22 million seniors and people with disabilities choose Medicare Advantage because it delivers better services, better value, and better access to care. Medicare Advantage has strong bipartisan support because it is a prime example of the private sector and government working together to deliver lower costs, more choices, and better outcomes for the American people:
- Medicare Advantage outperforms traditional Medicare on 16 out of 16 different clinical quality measures.
- Seniors covered by Medicare Advantage are significantly more satisfied with their plan (90% satisfaction rate) versus those enrolled in traditional Medicare (76% satisfaction rate).
- For 2020, Medicare Advantage premiums are projected to be at their lowest in 13 years, declining 23% from 2018. Many MA plans are also offering new, innovative benefits that are not covered in traditional Medicare.
“We applaud the President for proposing to strengthen the value of Medicare Advantage. We support the executive order’s direction to improve seniors’ access to care in Medicare Advantage, including expanded use of telehealth, greater flexibility in designing high-quality provider networks, and encouraged innovation in value-based care. We also support additional flexibility for MA plans to offer supplemental benefits that seniors want – which will be highly-valued and attractive new benefit offerings for 2020.
“We look forward to working with the Administration as it implements the executive order, and we will work with all stakeholders in a bipartisan way to ensure that Medicare Advantage delivers increasingly better affordability and choice for patients, beneficiaries and taxpayers, and to deliver the peace of mind that Americans deserve.”