SALISBURY TWP., Pa. – Wednesday was the first day of the open enrollment period for older Americans who use Medicare Advantage plans, but this year, there may be more people than ever shopping around.
At Hitcho Insurance in Salisbury Township, CEO Michael Hitcho said they’re making a lot of phone calls.
“We have about 800 clients that are affected that are losing insurance coverage. So we’ve been reaching out to them,” said Hitcho.
Unlike with traditional Medicare through the Federal government, Medicare Advantage is through private companies, and those companies can end plans that aren’t profitable.
“A lot of regional carriers are in a bit of financial trouble, so the best way to control this, if they’re not making money from a product, is to do away with it,” said Hitcho.
And Hitcho said they did away with a lot of health insurance plans for seniors.
“In our viewing area, it’s a definite major impact. Somewhere around 20 to 30 thousand Medicare enrollees that their plans are affected to the point that they’re going to need to make a new selection for next year,” said Hitcho.
Hitcho said it’s the first time he’s seen it this bad in his career.
“This is pretty unusual. Being in business for 25 years in this industry, I’ve only seen something somewhat similar once before, but not to this extent,” said Hitcho.
So what’s causing companies to cancel so many plans? Hitcho said it’s multiple factors.
“There’s a lot of high utilization of services. The Inflation Reduction Act brought in 2022 to reduce the drug prices really pushed a lot of those prices to the insurance carriers. Some of the extra benefits are just costing a lot of money. The fact that 7.5 million people might lose their Medicaid insurance, and if the insurance carrier that you’re getting has a book of Medicaid, they might be losing money there,” said Hitcho.
Open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans will continue from Wednesday until December 7th, so you’ve still got plenty of time if you’re shopping for a new plan.