Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicare Advantage Insurers Boosting Marketing Efforts
Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Insurers Ramp Up Marketing Efforts
Health insurance agents set up enrollment booths at community events. In grocery stores, brokers offer prospective members sign-up sheets, often for private Medicare plans that are co-branded with the retailer. Insurers and their partners send letters to people who meet criteria for specialized plans. (Hartnett and Tepper, 11/8)
Modern Healthcare: Oscar Health's Medicare Advantage Business All But Shutters
Oscar Health has all but abandoned Medicare Advantage after attracting few policyholders during its four years in the market, CEO Mario Schlosser said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call with investors Tuesday. (Tepper, 11/8)
USA Today: Here's Why Private Medicare Plans Are Set To Pass Traditional Medicare Enrollment
Older Americans who sign up for private plans are enticed by lower monthly premiums and extra benefits not covered by traditional Medicare, such as vision, dental, hearing and gym memberships. Private plans also cap out-of-pocket expenses at $8,300 for 2023 coverage while traditional Medicare does not unless a person purchases supplemental coverage. (Alltucker, 11/8)
In other news about medical coverage —
Tampa Bay Times: Florida Could Surpass Record Affordable Care Act Enrollment In 2023
The window to enroll for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act began this week with many experts predicting that participation in 2023 will likely surpass the record 14.5 million people who signed up for insurance through the federal program this year. Florida, which led the nation with 2.7 million enrollees in 2022, could also surpass that number next year, said Jodi Ray, executive director of Florida Covering Kids & Families, which provides navigators across the state to help people pick and enroll in federal marketplace insurance plans. (O'Donnell, 11/4)
KHN: Ad Goes Too Far With Claim That Joe Biden Promotes Surgery For Trans Teens
A radio ad targeting care for transgender youth began airing in cities around the country this fall — from Spanish-language stations in Corpus Christi, Texas, to sports talk shows in Tennessee to pop radio in Detroit. The ad, paid for by a political advocacy group founded by Stephen Miller, a longtime speechwriter and senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, were deemed so incendiary by one radio station owner that they were pulled in major markets. The minute-long script from America First Legal, titled “Not Anymore,” accuses President Joe Biden of “pushing radical gender experiments” with hormone therapy. (Farmer, 11/9)
