What are major Medicare Advantage Carriers Offering Members in 2024?
10/12/2023
For Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in 2024, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Cigna, and Aetna are trying to keep premiums and prescription drug costs low.
The availability of new Medicare Advantage plans for 2024 has been revealed by carriers as Medicare's open enrollment season draws near.
Plans have the chance to set themselves apart from their rivals with new features since Medicare Advantage plans have the freedom to provide benefits above and beyond what regular Medicare offers. Major payers gave $0 monthly rates, affordable prescription medication coverage, and benefits addressing social determinants of health priority in their 2024 offerings.
According to estimates from KFF, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Cigna, and Aetna account for 18.3 million members and 60% of the Medicare Advantage market. Their newly introduced benefits provide light on the senior healthcare priorities of payers, and their expanding influence may influence the Medicare Advantage payer landscape and consumers' choice of plans.
UNITEDHEALTHCARE
In order to cover 96 percent of all Medicare participants, UnitedHealthcare is expanding its service area.
Members can currently access their benefits and manage their appointments through the payer's online site. The mobile app and member website for UnitedHealthcare are both integrated with the UCard. Members can check in at an in-network provider's office or drugstore using the UCard, and they can use rewards in-person or online.
The payer has also increased its coverage to include 2.7 million more people qualifying for UnitedHealthcare's chronic special needs plan and an extra 700,000 people eligible for Medicare Advantage plans in 110 new counties.According to the payer, members' maximum out-of-pocket expenses in 2024 will be steady or reduced from 2023 levels. Additionally, regular dental, vision, and hearing tests, as well as mammograms, colonoscopies, and virtual visits will all have $0 copays under normal Medicare Advantage plans.
In 2024, the payer will introduce new benefits that make it easier for members to shop with their UCard. A mobile product scanner will allow members to confirm benefit eligibility for covered products when shopping in-store. A mobile UCard will allow merchants to scan a barcode for payment when a member is ready to check out.
The payer has also expanded its reach to an additional 700,000 people eligible for Medicare Advantage plans in 110 new counties and 2.7 million additional people eligible for UnitedHealthcare’s chronic special needs plans.
UnitedHealthcare will continue to provide dental, hearing, and vision coverage, like many Medicare Advantage plans. The payer has the largest national dentistry network, one of the largest national vision and hearing provider and retail networks, and one of the largest pharmacy networks in addition to having the largest Medicare Advantage network for medical providers.
According to the payer, members' maximum out-of-pocket expenses in 2024 will be steady or reduced from 2023 levels. Additionally, regular dental, vision, and hearing tests, as well as mammograms, colonoscopies, and virtual visits will all have $0 copays under normal Medicare Advantage plans.
HUMANA
The carrier claimed that member comments influenced Humana's 2024 product offerings. All Medicare Advantage plans will include dental, vision, and hearing coverage, with dental plans also include free preventative treatment.
The payer's Medicare Advantage plans will cover hundreds of widely prescribed generic medications, including those used to treat high blood pressure, depression, and high cholesterol. Members also have access to CenterWell Pharmacy, which sends prescription and non-prescription drugs to members in their homes or other preferred places.
The dual-eligible special needs plans from Humana provide a monthly Healthy Options Allowance for wholesome foods or necessities like rent and utility expenses, as well as $0 copays for Part D medicines.
For 2024, the payer has increased its geographic reach and will start to provide Medicare Advantage plans in 39 new counties. Open Network Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans, which allow members to see any provider who accepts Medicare and charge the same copay for visits to in- and out-of-network providers, will be made available in a few markets.
A $0 monthly premium plan will be available to more than half of expected Medicare beneficiaries in 2024, and Medicare Advantage plans will be offered in 49 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.
CIGNA
Cigna will start offering Medicare Advantage plans in 29 states in 2024. The payer has increased the number of counties it covers by 25, bringing the total to 603.
Every market will have a plan with a $0 premium, with the majority of them including a $0 copay for primary care. Additionally, the majority of markets will provide a plan with a refund for the monthly Medicare Part B premium of subscribers.
Dental, vision, and hearing care, home delivery of meals during hospitalization, and exercise advantages are among the benefits. A support program for caregivers, transportation services to and from doctors' offices and pharmacies, and allowances for over-the-counter medicines are all features of some insurance policies.
Members of Cigna can use the myCigna app to access health and claims data as well as virtual treatment choices for dermatology, behavioral healthcare, and non-emergency urgent care services. The payer also provides the Cigna Healthy Today card, which, depending on the plan, gives health incentives, a budget for groceries and utilities, and more.
In 2024, Cigna will provide three separate prescription drug plans, each of which would allow customers to purchase some prescriptions with no copays via preferred home delivery.
The payer will add 17 new states to its Courage Medicare plan. The beneficiaries of this plan, which has a $0 premium and is open to everyone, are US military veterans with benefits like TRICARE for Life or VA Healthcare.
Additionally, Cigna is launching its dual eligible special needs plans to 68 new counties, which feature $0 cost-sharing requirements for all covered drugs.
CVS HEALTH/AETNA
For 2024, Aetna, a CVS Health business, has expanded the scope of its Medicare Advantage coverage and introduced new benefits. The payer will provide plans in 46 states and Washington, DC, and added 255 new counties, raising the total number of counties with plans accessible to 2,269 and reaching an extra 2.2 million beneficiaries.
The payer estimates that nearly 85% of Medicare enrollees will have access to an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan with a $0 monthly payment.
Additionally, Aetna is adding 433 additional counties to its dual-eligible special needs plans. These plans provide dental, vision, hearing, and Part D drug coverage at no cost, as well as daily living expense reimbursements.
The payer has expanded its Medicare offerings, and Aetna, a CVS Health affiliate, has unveiled a new plan with fitness perks. The SmartFit plans are designed for people who are considering transferring from a prescription drug plan to a Medicare Advantage plan. They consist of $0 Tier 1 generics at selected pharmacies, as well as $0 in-network primary care appointments, labs, and visits. A SilverSneakers exercise membership and an annual fitness reimbursement benefit of $600 to $1,200 are also included in the plans.
More plans and states will be able to choose the Aetna Medicare payment card, which entitles qualified members to a quarterly allowance for out-of-pocket costs for in-network care and some over-the-counter health products.
Members of Aetna Medicare Advantage will gain from recent CVS Health purchases as well. All Medicare Advantage plans will provide yearly home health visits through Signify Health, which include a non-invasive physical exam and a health risk assessment. In order to determine the member's risks and social assistance needs, providers will also assess the member's home environment.
The carrier added that the acquisition of Oak Street Health by CVS Health will enhance coordinated primary care delivery. All Oak Street Health primary care offices nationwide will be open to members.
