Higher prices, fewer options for Monroe County seniors signing up for Medicare Advantage plans

Higher prices, fewer options for Monroe County seniors signing up for Medicare Advantage plans Jennifer Lewke News10NBC Higher prices, fewer options for Monroe County seniors signing up for Medicare Advantage plans ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Older adults in Monroe County are facing higher prices and fewer choices as they sign up for Medicare Advantage plans during open enrollment. Peggy and Oscar Kent are longtime Greece residents, “ever since I was young and got married, it was always my dream to retire and live in Florida in the winter times,” Oscar Kent says. The Kents saved enough to be able to buy a mobile home in Florida so, they normally choose a Medicare Advantage PPO plan. This year, they said they were shocked by the limited options and the price of those options. “We’re going to have to pay about $4,176 more than last year” Oscar Kent says.  The couple is on a fixed income and faces a $1,700 deductible even with those high premiums. “You work and you save and you think you’ve got enough for retirement, you’re going to enjoy yourself and everything keeps going up and the health insurance goes up a lot,” Kent adds. Prices for Medicare Advantage plans in Monroe County are higher than in other parts of New York. “Why is our county being targeted you know what I mean? It’s just not fair,” Peggy Kent wonders. Rene Pettenski is the head of Medicare counseling at LifeSpan.  She helps seniors understand their options, prices and coverage. “The last few years we’ve seen plans pull out, like United Healthcare pulled out, this year, Humana is pulling out,” Pettenski says. 25% of Monroe County residents are now over age 60, which is higher than the statewide average. Our region also relies heavily on regional non-profit health plans rather than massive national carriers and as News10NBC has previously reported, changes to the Medicare wage index have created severe financial losses for those non-profit insurers. Federal regulations lowering the senior out-of-pocket prescription drug maximum from $8,000 to $2,000 also shifted the financial burden to insurance companies which has led many to discontinue or scale back Medicare Advantage options. “What we’re seeing new over the last couple of years are medical deductibles being implemented into plans, so they have premiums, they have co-pays, they do have co-insurance which is a percentage,” Pettenski says. Oscar and Peggy Kent say the dream of spending winters in Florida is slipping away. “It’s something that we can no longer afford to do,” Oscar Kent says. “It’s going to hurt, emotionally, it’s going to hurt,” Peggy Kent added. If you need help understanding or deciding on what Medicare plan might be best, click here to connect with Lifespan