Nearly a third of beneficiaries said they chose traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan with the help of an insurance broker, according to the Commonwealth Fund's "2022 Biennial Health Insurance" survey released Oct. 17.
The survey firm SSRS asked 1,605 adults 65 and older who were enrolled in Medicare as their primary source of coverage why they chose Medicare Advantage or traditional Medicare and what resources they used to choose their coverage, according to the survey. SSRS conducted the survey on the Commonwealth Fund's behalf between March 28 and July 4.
Here are the top resources beneficiaries used to guide their plan choice:
1. Insurance brokers — 30 percent (traditional Medicare ); 31 percent (Medicare Advantage)
2. Friends and family — 14 percent (TM); 20 percent (MA)
3. Medicare hotline or Medicare.gov — 5 percent (TM); 9 percent (MA)
4. Advertisement on TV or somewhere else — 3 percent (TM); 7 percent (MA)
5. State health insurance assistance program — 5 percent (TM); 4 percent (MA)
Forty-five percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries and 37 percent of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries said they did not receive help.