• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Louisville: 555-555-555
  • Charlotte: 555-555-555
  • Why Partner
  • Our Expertise
  • Resources
  • Get Aligned
  • Broker Portal
Plan Advisors

Plan Advisors

Helping you choose the right health plan

  • Why Partner
  • Our Expertise
    • Meet Your Team
    • Success Stories
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Care Initiative
    • MedicareCENTER
    • Medicare Marketing Support
    • Promotional Collateral
  • Let’s Talk
  • Broker Portal

Healthcare Costs Down. Medicare Advantage Enrollments Up. Correlation?

February 15, 2013 by Lance Hoeltke

Earlier this week I read that our country’s spending on health care has been at historic lows for a third straight year. The conclusion was formed by comparing health spending growth rates to the overall growth of the economy, reasoning that it’s easier to keep up with the costs if the two are aligned, than if health spending surges ahead.

Is Medicare Advantage helping keep Healthcare costs down?  We think so!When you dig deeper though, it still means that spending in the US amounts to nearly 18% of GDP, or $2.7 trillion in 2011, and averages out to $8,680 per American annually! This is significantly greater than any other developed country in the world.

 

I’m sure there are a number of reasons for the mild improvement. Perhaps the abundance of information on health and wellness has had a slight influence on lifestyle and healthy choices. Perhaps a tighter budget means we’ve reverted back to the way health care was used when many of us were kids…emergencies only! I recently heard a comedian talking about a time when he and his brother were throwing lawn darts in the yard, and while they were dodging them after each throw for fun, he failed to get out the of the way and ended up getting stuck in the leg. Their mom walked outside and said “take this cloth and put pressure on it, we’re NOT going to the doctor!” But I digress…

 

I have to believe though that yet another factor is the design and concept of Medicare Advantage. We now have close to 12 million beneficiaries on these plans, and primarily on coordinated care products like HMO, POS, and PPO. The “pay as you go” model, rather than prepaid health plans, brings a level of engagement that prompts the member to consider each choice a little more carefully. Also, with most MAPD plans you get other programs that increase well being, like case and disease management, exercise programs, more ancillary benefits, better transparency, and less fraud, waste, and abuse. With 25% of the Medicare market and growing, I have to believe this is having a positive impact.

 

Of course, there is still much room for needed improvement. Everyone can afford to learn more about the availability of programs and resources to improve our clients’ well being, and act accordingly. As insurance professionals in the senior space, we can have an enormous impact on this need for improvement, by staying current, and being that trusted source of information and guidance.

Filed Under: Agent Testimonial, Bishop Marketing Agency, CMS, Get to know Bishop Marketing Agency, Health Reform Bill, Humana’s Medicare health plans, MAPD, MAPD and PDP membership, MAPD enrollment, medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Advantage growth, Medicare Beneficiaries, Medicare choices, Medicare Health Plans, Medicare legislation, Medicare Modernization Act, Medicare options, Selling, selling Medicare Advantage Plans, selling Medicare products, seniors choose Medicare Advantage

Think "Plan Advisors first!"

Get aligned with Plan Advisors for access to these tools, resources, support, and more!

Let's Talk

Footer

STAY UP TO DATE

facebook instagram linkedIn YouTube


Florida Office
3625 NW 82nd Ave
Suite 100-F
Doral, FL 33166

CONTACT US

  • Phone: 502.228.1308
  • Fax: 502.470.5746
  • info@myplanadvisors.com
  • Serving all 50 states

  • Kentucky Office
    13040 Eastgate Park Way
    Suite 108
    Louisville, KY 40223

QUICK LINKS

  • Why Partner
  • Expertise
  • Resources
  • Talk to Plan Advisors
  • Broker Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Copyright © 2023 · Website Design by The Marketing Squad

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
__cfduid1 monthThe cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information.
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
YSCsessionThis cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gcl_au3 monthsThis cookie is used by Google Analytics to understand user interaction with the website.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
_gat_UA-67564884-11 minuteNo description
CONSENT16 years 9 months 23 days 9 hours 2 minutesNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo