With Medicare Open Enrollment underway through December 7, advocacy and research group Better Medicare Alliance (BMA)  commissioned healthcare consultants Avalere to examine managed care organizations’ 2025 Medicare Advantage (MA) and Special Needs Plans (SNP) offerings. The conclusion:  recent federal policy changes to the MA program placed financial strain on the managed care organizations, directly impacting the scope and type of benefits provided to beneficiaries.

While data show that MA/SNP premiums will be roughly the same in 2025, MA/SNP plans are reducing: the number of plans they offer in certain markets, the amount the plans will reduce a beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs, and the number and type of supplemental benefits included for each plan.

Nationally, there will be 2.8% fewer MA/SNP plans (or 200 fewer plans) offered, the analysis says. Some might counter that in the past, MA organizations (MAOs) offered numerous similar plans in a given market, which just made it more confusing for beneficiaries to compare. The downside is nearly two million people will need to make a new choice because their plan is no longer offered. This is the dynamic system created by the MA program allowing it to respond to market forces.

On the supplemental benefit side, the number of plans offering vision, hearing and dental will remain stable, the analysis says. However, beneficiaries will find fewer plans offering primarily health-related supplemental benefits like fitness, in-home support services, meals and nutrition services, over-the-counter medicines, and transportation–though in most cases, there are still plenty of other plans to choose from that will continue offering these benefits. And, while many of these offerings are attractive to beneficiaries, there is no data currently to show whether they access these benefits once enrolled. Therefore, it is unclear whether it is a real or perceived loss for beneficiaries.

What we do know is that reports like this are being used to galvanize older adults to ask lawmakers to add more funding to and support for the Medicare Advantage program during this election cycle. These changes are often characterized as cuts, rather than choices, made by private managed care plans based upon external policies and conditions, and the plans’ financial goals.

However, data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) are clear that MAOs receive significantly more funding per beneficiary compared to Medicare Fee for Service program.

To review the full BMA report, click here, and check out the LeadingAge “Top 5 Things to Know About Medicare Open Enrollment” resource to help older adults navigate the open enrollment process.