Survey Shows Most US States Offer Medicare Advantage to Retirees

A new survey has determined that the share of employers who still provide health benefits to retirees has been decreasing over time, reaching 21% as of last year. The survey was carried out by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a leading health policy organization in the United States.

The survey’s objective was to examine the extent to which states were offering health benefits to eligible retirees under Medicare, via Medicare Advantage arrangements. This analysis was based on KFF’s review of employee-retirement-system sites for different states. The survey determined that almost all the states along with the District of Columbia offer health benefits to retirees of Medicare age. The only states that didn’t offer retiree health benefits to state retirees aged 65 and above were found to be Nebraska and Idaho.

The survey also determined that offer rates among public employers such as municipal and state governments were significantly higher than among private employers.

In addition, the survey found that Medicare Advantage (MA) was the sole option in 13 states for retiree health coverage for those aged 65 years and older. This figure is an increase from the eight states captured in a previous survey conducted in 2016. In some of these states, retirees who chose coverage under traditional Medicare had to give up their health benefits permanently.

Retirees in most states, excluding Maine and Connecticut, who switched to traditional Medicare were also sometimes denied a Medigap policy because of pre-existing conditions.

The survey also determined that retirees aged 65 and over were provided with coverage under Medicare via plans that supplemented traditional Medicare in 14 states. However, these individuals weren’t provided with coverage via a Medicare Advantage plan. This figure represents a decrease when compared to the 25 states recorded in 2016.

Furthermore, the survey determined that retirees aged 65 and above were offered both supplemental plans for traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans in the District of Columbia and 21 other states. This figure represents an increase from the 13 states captured in 2016.

Among the 21 states and DC, three states provide retiree health benefits via private exchange, presenting their retirees with an option to purchase either a plan that supplements Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan.

It should be noted that the survey did not center on health benefits for active employees, pre-65 retirees, retirees with separate retirement systems in some states such as teachers or law enforcement, or country- and municipal-granted retiree health benefits. Additionally, the survey didn’t include U.S. territories or Puerto Rico.

The survey documenting the extent to which states are offering MA plans shows that providers such as Astiva Health and others in various states are making a notable contribution to the delivery of health coverage for different groups of people.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Astiva Health are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/Astiva

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