December 8, 2019

NO ONE KEEPS THEIR DOCTOR BECAUSE THEY LIKE THEM:

People hate shopping for health insurance (Bob Herman, 12/03/19, Axios)

Reality check: During any insurance program's annual enrollment period, most people end up staying with the status quo, if it's an option, instead of picking a new plan.

Fewer than one out of 10 seniors voluntarily switch from one private Medicare Advantage plan to another, according to new research from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The same holds true for Medicare's private prescription drug plans.

Most employers don't usually change insurance carriers, often out of fear of angering workers, and keep plan options limited.

Employees, after several reminders from HR, usually default to what they had.

Fewer than half of people in the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces actively re-enroll in new plans, even though the market was designed for comparison shopping.

Medicaid enrollees in some states have no say in the private plans they get.

Between the lines: Buying health insurance -- a $20,000 decision for the average family -- is more complicated than buying furniture.

Which is why the GOP is so out of touch on healthcare.  People don't choose a plan, they get stuck in one by the employer who's paying for it.

Posted by at December 8, 2019 10:04 AM

  

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