Increasingly, employers and unions that offer retirement health benefits are contracting with private insurance carriers to provide group Medicare Advantage benefits in place of traditional (or original) Medicare. The Center for Medicare Advocacy has heard from numerous dissatisfied beneficiaries faced with automatic enrollment in these types of plans; meaning, their former employer or union will automatically enroll them unless they affirmatively opt out, and as a result, in many cases, pay higher premiums. Some beneficiaries are concerned with their lack of choice. Others are disappointed by the coverage.
Automatic enrollment of Medicare-eligible beneficiaries into employer or union-sponsored group MA plans is a concern; among other things, it limits care options for millions of people and erodes the Medicare statute’s protection of choice.
- Read more in our full Issue Brief at https://medicareadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Issue-Brief-MA-Auto-Enrollment.pdf