Better Medicare Alliance Celebrates Historically Low Medicare Advantage Premiums for 2022
Coalition urges Congress to protect these gains for beneficiaries as Medicare reform talks continue
Washington, D.C. – Better Medicare Alliance, the nation’s leading research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage, responded today to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2022 Medicare Advantage premiums and cost-sharing information.
The CMS announcement shows Medicare Advantage average premiums will fall again to $19 a month, down from $21.22 in 2021. CMS further projects that Medicare Advantage enrollment will swell to 29.5 million beneficiaries in 2022. Separate research has found that recent Medicare Advantage enrollment gains are driven by minority, low-income, and at-risk beneficiaries.
“With the lowest average monthly premiums in 15 years, Medicare Advantage continues to deliver high-value care for beneficiaries going into 2022,” said Mary Beth Donahue, President and CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance. “More than half of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries live below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, as compared to 39% in FFS Medicare. Today’s CMS announcement shows how Medicare Advantage continues working to maintain low costs and robust benefits for those it serves. This is welcome news for the 29.5 million Americans who will entrust their care to Medicare Advantage in the year ahead.”
Donahue added, “We know these outcomes don’t happen on their own. As Congress continues its work on possible Medicare reforms, reports have already shown how certain changes to Medicare Advantage payment could impact seniors’ premiums and benefits. We urge lawmakers to protect these gains for beneficiaries and ensure Medicare Advantage remains equipped with the tools to provide low-cost, high-value care.”
CMS’s announcement further explains that “Medicare Advantage plans will continue to offer a wide range of supplemental benefits in 2022” and the percentage of health plans offering special supplemental benefits for chronically ill individuals will increase from 19% to 25%.
Medicare’s Open Enrollment season begins on October 15, 2021 and ends on December 7, 2021.
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