|
|
|
Press Release August 12, 1998 |
Contact: |
|
|
|
YONKERS, NY - In a one of a kind study of more than 200 Medicare
HMOs and over 1,200 Medicare Supplemental Insurance policies in 19
cities across the country, Consumer Reports has found that seniors
are facing higher out-of-pocket health care expenses, cutbacks in HMO
benefits such as prescription drugs and vision care, and a burdensome
array of Medicare choices, some of which could jeopardize the future
of the program. The unique study was compiled by comparing
Consumer Reports' Medicare price database, compiled in 1994,
to today's prices.
The study, published in the September issue, also found that
Medicare HMOs and Medicare Supplemental Plans vary widely depending
on location. A senior in Miami, for example, has many better rated
Medicare HMO options to choose from than a neighbor in Jacksonville,
Florida. (The 19 cities in the study are listed at the end of this
release.)
"Many seniors in this country are discovering that the health care
system they were promised and depend on is becoming prohibitively
expensive, restrictive, and unintelligible," says Trudy Lieberman,
the Consumer Reports Health Policy Editor, who conducted the yearlong
investigation. "With more Medicare options coming in the Fall, this
trend is going to get worse."
Among the study's key findings:
Another key finding is that many seniors who signed up with an HMO
because it paid for prescription drugs are finding that their plans
now limit, or have begun to charge for this benefit. Seventy-seven
percent of Medicare's 39 million beneficiaries regularly take
medication. A worksheet that helps consumers evaluate the
prescription drug benefits offered by different HMOs is available in
the September issue of Consumer Reports. An interactive
version can be found on the magazine's website: www.ConsumerReports.org.
With the number of Medicare options increasing in the fall,
beneficiaries are going to find the
system more bewildering and difficult to negotiate than ever before.
One woman in Dallas already has nearly 100 choices for Medicare HMOs
and supplemental policiesCnot including the "Medicare Choice" options
which may proliferate in the future. According to one survey cited in
the report, seniors say they are more concerned with stability than
choice.
The article also offers helpful recommendations for those seniors
choosing a Medicare option:
For those considering retiree health coverage offered by a
former employer: These plans often include coverage for
prescription drugs that Medicare doesn't pay for and monthly premiums
may be low. However many employers are now capping the amount they'll
pay for their retirees' health insurance. Find out whether there is
such a cap and how it will affect future health care costs.
For those considering an HMO: Ratings indicate that HMOs
are less expensive and offer more services for the money than
Medicare-supplement policies. But there can be significant
restrictions on access to certain medical services, including
specialists and physicians who are not on the HMO's roll. Also:
compare prescription coverage among plans. Be prepared for a change.
An HMO that is a good deal today may be a poor one in a few months.
Benefits can and do disappear.
For those considering a Medicare-supplement: Shop several
insurance carriers. Consumer Reports found huge price differences
among companies offering the same plan in a particular area. Beware
of "attained age" or "issue age" policies whose premiums may rise as
you get older or increase to cover higher medial costs. "Community
rated" policies offer all policyholders the same rate, but
Consumer Reports found that these policies have all but
disappeared.
The article also discusses various scenarios that could imperil
the future of Medicare which stem from changes mandated by the
Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Among the most significant are the
options that attract healthy beneficiaries away from Medicare by
offering prescription-drug benefits and other special services not
covered by Medicare so only the sickest people will remain in the
program. Historically, by spreading insurance risk among the health
and the seriously ill, it was possible to insure everybody. If
healthy people leave Medicare to join other plans and if the sickest
people continue to generate 75 percent of Medicare's expenditures, as
they do now, the program will be too costly for the government to
maintain. The premiums paid by healthy people who leave will go to
pay insurance companies, doctors, and hospital organizations instead
of subsidizing care for the sick.
"The Medicare system as we know it is being dismantled," says Ms.
Lieberman. "The baby boomers who have parents in the system now are
in for a shock when they become seniors." The cities surveyed in the
report are: Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Cincinnati; Dallas; Denver;
Detroit; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, MO; Miami; Minneapolis-St.
Paul; New Orleans; New York; Phoenix, Philadelphia; San Francisco;
Seattle; and St. Louis. (A more detailed release on each city is
available upon request.)
The September issue of Consumer Reports will be available
August 25 wherever magazines are sold. Information and articles from
Consumer Reports can be accessed online at www.ConsumerReports.org.
On August 14, the full text of this story will be available
online.
