Have You Received the Letter? Medicare Trying To Nudge Seniors Out Of Plans With Low Ratings
By Susan Jaffe
Medicare officials are trying a novel approach during this open enrollment season to gently nudge a half million beneficiaries out of 26 private drug and medical plans that have performed poorly over the past three years.

It begins with letters informing seniors they are enrolled in a plan that received low ratings.
"We encourage you to compare this plan to other options in your area and decide if it is still the right choice for you," the letter from Medicare urges. About 375,000 members of Medicare Advantage plans received the letters, along with 150,000 drug plan members in 48 states, the District of Columba and Puerto Rico, including California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas.
The effort marks the first time that Medicare officials have tried to steer beneficiaries away from some private drug and medical plans, while still allowing them to operate. Officials have also warned the plans that they may be cancelled in the future.
Instead of a typical government form letter, each one was addressed to the individual member by name and tells the beneficiary that her plan "has been rated 'poor' or 'below average'" because it earned less than three stars under Medicare's five-star rating system for three consecutive years.
Yet that may not be enough to catch their attention.
"Some people don’t change no matter how many letters you send them," says Leta Blank, program director for the Montgomery County, Md., Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program, which helps seniors evaluate their coverage options. There are dozens of plans on sale in most counties. Even if a different plan is cheaper, studies have shown few seniors change plans. "They are paralyzed. It’s a very difficult issue," Blank says.
Chart: Medicare Advantage Plans With Low Ratings
- Medicare officials are encouraging 525,000 beneficiaries to switch out of 26 Medicare Advantage and drug plans that have received low ratings for three consecutive years. See the complete list.
For many beneficiaries, plan ratings are not as important as price, any restrictions on drugs, such as special authorizations needed or requirements to try a substitute drug first, and in the case of a medical plan, whether their doctors participate, she said.
In addition to the letters, Medicare is making it harder for people to sign up for one of the 26 plans. If they search for plans on Medicare’s plan finder website, they can access and join other, better performing plans electronically but to join one of the 26, they must contact that insurance company directly. Those plans also have a special warning symbol next to their names to highlight their low ratings.
And the government will continue to prod even after the usual enrollment period ends Dec. 7.
Seniors who do pick plans with poor track records will have one chance to switch next year into a better plan (earning three or more stars). And Medicare officials are considering sending a reminder in the mail in February. Most of the roughly 13.3 million Medicare Advantage members and about 19 million drug plan enrollees are locked in to their plans for a year.
"We want to make it easy for beneficiaries to find and select the highest quality plans, and discourage people from staying in chronically low-performing plans," said Isabella Leung, a Medicare spokeswoman.
Pages: 1 · 2
More Articles
- Medicare Advantage Increasingly Popular With Seniors — But Not Hospitals and Doctors
- National Archives Foundation: Archives Experience, A Republic, If You Can Keep It
- Medicare’s Open Enrollment Is Open Season for Scammers; Here’s How You Know
- Journalist's Resource: Religious Exemptions and Required Vaccines; Examining the Research
- Kaiser Family Foundation: FDA’s Approval of Biogen’s New Alzheimer’s Drug Has Huge Cost Implications for Medicare and Beneficiaries
- Jo Freeman: How to Debate a Bully
- Supreme Court Surprises The Public in LGBTQ Ruling: What is Sex Discrimination?
- The Uber and Lyft of Dog Walking Fight State Oversight
- An Example of Whistleblower Rights and Protections from the US Department of Justice
- Going Forth On the Fourth After Strict Blackout Conditions and Requisitioned Gunpowder Had Been the Law