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National Medigap Enrollees SurveyNational Medigap Enrollees Survey

Gary A. FergusonGary A. FergusonSenior Vice PresidentSenior Vice President

andandGina ScimeGina Scime

Research AnalystResearch Analyst

•N = 500 Medigap Enrollees, Nationwide. April 1-4, 2005; Margin of Error = ± 4.5%

Coalition to Promote Choice for Seniors

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Methodology

The Coalition to Promote Choice for Seniors commissioned American Viewpoint, Inc. to conduct a national survey of Medigap enrollees. In all, 500 telephone interviews with Medicare enrollees who have self-purchased Medigap plans were conducted between April 1 and April 4, 2005. The sample was drawn from a targeted Survey Sampling database of those age 65 and older and respondents were randomly selected. All surveys are subject to errors caused by interviewing a sample of persons rather than the entire population. The margin of error for N=500 is +4.5% at a 95% confidence level.

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How satisfied are you with your Medigap coverage?

68%

22%

1%

5%

2%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Don't Know

Not Very Satisfied

Not At All Satisfied

Somewhat Satisfied

Very Satisfied

Total Satisfied 90%

Total Not Satisfied 7%

Enrollees are overwhelmingly satisfied with their Medigap coverage

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How satisfied are you with the Medicare program?

Total Satisfied 87%

Total Not Satisfied 6%

Most enrollees are also satisfied with the Medicare program

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Thinking about the monthly premiums you pay for your Medigap supplemental policy and the services that are covered, how good a value is your Medigap policy?

32%

48%

14%

3%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Excellent Good Fair Poor

Eight in ten say that Medigap is an excellent or good value

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Which of the following benefits do you value the most in your Medigap plan?

3%

3%

17%

23%

34%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

All of these

Covers skilled nursingfacility expenses

Covers prescriptiondrug expenses

Covers physicianexpenses

Covers hospitalexpenses

Enrollees value coverage of hospital and physician expenses most in their Medigap plan

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Would you recommend Medigap coverage to a friend or relative when they turn 65 and enroll in Medicare?

84%

7%8%

Yes No Don't Know

Most enrollees would recommend their Medigap coverage to a friend or relative

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Some people in Washington have suggested that Medigap causes seniors to use more health care services because it provides coverage for all out-of-pocket expenses. Would you favor or oppose a proposal that would require everyone with Medigap insurance to pay an annual deductible, such as the first $250 of their expenses, and some part of the cost for most doctor visits and hospital stays?

14%

13%47%

11%

11%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Favor Oppose Don't Know

Not Strongly

Strongly

Total Favor 27%

Total Oppose 58%

More than half oppose paying an annual deductible/part of cost for doctor visits and hospital stays

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When you are deciding on purchasing health care services, how concerned are you about whether or not you will have out-of-pocket expenses?

56%

27%

9%

6%

2%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Don't Know

Not Very Concerned

Not At All Concerned

Somewhat Concerned

Very Concerned

Eight in ten enrollees are concerned about having out-of-pocket expenses for health care

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Would you be willing to pay higher deductibles or other out of pocket expenses in order to reduce the monthly premiums you pay for your Medigap policy?

22%

64%

13%

Yes No Don't Know

A majority is not willing to pay higher deductibles or out of pocket expenses in order to reduce monthly premiums

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Would you be more or less likely to vote to reelect a Member of Congress who votes to eliminate your ability to purchase Medigap insurance?

12%

7%

51%

14%

11%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

More Likely Less Likely Don't Know

Somewhat

Much

Total 19% Total 65%

A majority would be less likely to reelect a Member of Congress who votes to eliminate their ability to purchase Medigap insurance

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Summary & Conclusions

Slide 3. Medigap enrollees express overwhelming satisfaction with their coverage. Overall, 90% are satisfied and only 7% are dissatisfied.

- Satisfaction increases with age (from 64% very satisfied among those age 65-69 to 79% among those age 80 and above).

- Satisfaction is strong across political and demographic groups

- The intensity of satisfaction is higher for Medigap than for Medicare

Slide 4. These Seniors also express a high level of satisfaction with the Medicare program. In all, 87% are satisfied and only 6% are dissatisfied.

- The intensity of satisfaction again increases with age (from 43% very satisfied among

those age 65-69 to 60% very satisfied among those age 75 and older).

Slides 5 & 6. A majority of enrollees say that their Medigap policy is an excellent (32%) or good (48%) value. 14% say it represents a fair value and 3% a poor value.

- Results are consistent by region, gender, age, partisanship and income.

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Summary & Conclusions

Slide 7. The vast majority (84%) would recommend Medigap coverage to a friend or relative when they turn 65 and enroll in Medicare.

Slide 8. A majority (58%) opposes requiring all Medigap enrollees to pay a $250 annual deductible and some part of the cost for most doctor visits and hospital stays. Only 27% favor this requirement.

- Opposition is particularly high among those age 65 to 69 (70%), women 65-74 (69%), African-Americans (79%) and those not satisfied with Medicare (78%). A

majority of all partisan groups oppose.

Slide 9. More than half (56%) of Medigap enrollees are very concerned about having out-of-pocket expenses when deciding on purchasing health care services. Another 27% are somewhat concerned and 15% are not concerned.

- Women 65-74 (67% very concerned), blacks (76%), those dissatisfied with Medigap (69%), those dissatisfied with Medicare (70%) and those with incomes under $20,000 (71%) are most concerned about out-of-pocket expenses.

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Summary & Conclusions

Slide 10. Only 22% of enrollees would be willing to pay higher deductibles or other out-of-pocket expenses in order to reduce monthly premiums for their Medigap policy. Another 64% are unwilling to pay higher deductibles and 13% are undecided. Willingness decreases with age (from 27% of those age 65-69 to 15% of those age 80 and older).

- Men 75+ (71% no), African-Americans (86%), those who oppose requiring a deductible (74%), those with fair or poor health (74%), those with five or more daily prescriptions (72%) and ticket-splitters (70%) are particularly unwilling to pay for these increases.

Slide 11. A majority (65%) of Medigap enrollees would be less likely to vote to reelect a Member of Congress who votes to eliminate their ability to purchase Medigap insurance. More than half (51%) say they would be much less likely and only 19% say they would be more likely to reelect.

- Members of Congress who vote to eliminate Medigap face repercussions from a majority of all age groups and voter types. 71% of those 65-69, 63% of those 70-74,

68% of those 75-79 and 60% of those 80 and above would be less likely to reelect. Similarly, 67% of Republicans, 70% of Ticket-splitters and 64% of Democrats would be less likely to reelect based on this vote.