Survey Finds Medicare Is Confusing Both to Beneficiaries and Boomers Who Will Soon Come on Board- BeechTree Partners Blog

Survey Finds Medicare Is Confusing Both to Beneficiaries and Boomers Who Will Soon Come on Board

Medicare is confusing — both to seniors age 65+ who are already enrolled and to the first line of baby boomers, age 60-64, who are soon eligible to enter the program. The result: Vast numbers of people are missing opportunities to save money on their coverage. So found a recent survey released by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and UnitedHealthcare, based on a late July phone poll of 1,000 seniors 65+ and 500 “boomers” 60-64.

Among the entire survey group:
• 46% say they understand Medicare and how it works.
• 35% find Medicare confusing and don’t understand it very well.
• 16% admit they don’t understand it at all.
• Only 33% can identify Medicare Part A as the hospital insurance component.
• Just 23% know Medicare Part B covers doctor visits.
• 68% didn’t even venture a guess at what Medicare Part C is.
• 64% don’t know Medicare Part C and Medicare Advantage are synonymous.

Among those age 65+:
• 58% described their ability to evaluate and choose the best Medicare coverage to meet their health and financial needs as excellent or good.
• Despite the previous bullet, 46% reported never shopping around for the best coverage, and 24% reported not doing so in at least 2 years.
• 41% believe shopping around for different Medicare coverage will result in no savings.
• 36% who would, based on income, qualify for assistance with their Medicare costs; of this group, 68% have never heard of the Medicare Savings Programs, 53% have never heard of the Extra Help Program for Rx costs, and only 13% have ever applied to either program.

Among those age 60-64:
• 5% (that is NOT a typo — five percent!) believe Medicare will exist as it is throughout their retirement years.
• 27% describe their feelings about enrolling in Medicare as “indifferent”; 26% use the word “nervous”; 14% choose “overwhelmed.”
• 18% say they are “relieved” to be joining the program soon; 7% say they are “excited.”
• 55% say their understanding of how to evaluate and choose the best Medicare coverage is “poor”; 26% describe their understanding as “fair”; only 12% label it “good”; and a mere 4% say “excellent.”