Where’s the value in Medicare Advantage dental, vision and hearing benefits?

A study by Christophe Cai and others, published in JAMA, finds that Medicare Advantage dental, vision and hearing benefits are of little if any value.

The researchers compared use of dental, vision and hearing care between people in Medicare Advantage and people in traditional Medicare. What they found was that, while more people in Medicare Advantage had some dental, vision or hearing coverage, spending and use of these services was similar.

People enrolled in Medicare Advantage paid on average about nine percent less for eyeglasses and dental care than people in Traditional Medicare. They did not pay less for hearing services or other “extra” benefits.

The researchers found that either cost-sharing is an obstacle to receiving dental, vision and hearing care in Medicare Advantage or enrollees are not aware of the fact that their Medicare Advantage plan covers a portion of these benefits.

Specifically, the researchers estimate the value of Medicare Advantage dental benefits to be $23 on average for enrollees. People in Traditional Medicare pay on average $250 for dental care each visit and people in Medicare Advantage pay $227. People in Medicare Advantage typically must pay 50 percent coinsurance for dental care and can get care from a limited number of in-network dentists. As a result most Medicare Advantage enrollees pay the full cost of their dental care out of pocket from out-of-network dentists.

For eyeglasses, the value of the Medicare Advantage benefit is about $20. People in Traditional Medicare pay $226 for eyeglasses, while people in Medicare Advantage pay $206, on average. For hearing aids, the value is $22. People in traditional Medicare pay $201 for hearing aids and people in Medicare Advantage pay $179.

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