America's Benefit Specialist November 2023

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT MEDICARE ADS ARE DOMINATED BY PLANS FEATURING CELEBRITIES, ACTIVE AND FIT SENIORS, AND PROMISES OF SAVINGS AND EXTRA BENEFITS WITHOUT FUNDAMENTAL PLAN INFORMATION MEDICARE MATTERS

The annual blitz of ads for Medicare Advantage plans has be come a rite of fall, as health insurers, brokers and other third parties seek to court enrollees for these private plans, which are offered to the 65 million people with Medicare during the program’s open-enrollment season. In advance of the open enrollment period that start ed on October 15, the Kaiser Family Foundation reviewed more than 1,200 unique television ads that aired more than 643,000 times last year to examine these marketing strate gies in depth. Based on its research, KFF found a heavy reliance on celebrity endorsers, liberal use of what appear to be official hotlines and images of government-issued Medicare cards, and suggestions that seniors who do not sign up for a plan could miss out on benefits to which they are entitled. More than 85% of airings, or 9,500 ads per day, were for Medicare Advantage, the private plans that now enroll more than half of all eligible people with Medicare. Most of the remaining ads were for Medicare drug plans or Medicare supplemental insurance (Medigap). Ads rarely mentioned traditional Medicare or potential limitations with plan coverage, such as provider networks

or prior-authorization requirements, leaving beneficiaries with an incomplete view of their coverage options and the tradeoffs among them. Open enrollment runs annually from October 15 to December 7, with advertising permitted to begin on October 1. “There’s no question that Medicare has become a lot more complex. As enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has grown, the annual marketing madness can create confusion for people who are trying to make difficult decisions about coverage,” said KFF President and CEO Drew Altman. “We heard directly from seniors in focus groups that the ads were often perceived as misleading and left them feeling over whelmed. This isn’t a good basis on which to make a choice that will affect your health and pocketbook.” Key insights from the research: More than a quarter of all airings of Medicare Advantage ads (27%), included an official Medicare card or an image that resembled it. Additionally, more than 80% of airings sponsored by brokers and other third parties urged viewers to call a toll-free number described as “Medicare” hotline. But the number was not the official 1-800-Medicare hotline, and the entities behind such messages did not represent

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