As the December 31 Medicare open enrollment deadline grows closer, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports record-level enrollment activity from seniors.
CMS reported Wednesday that Medicare's open enrollment season continues to generate high levels of activity at 1-800-MEDICARE, online at www.medicare.gov and at 1,400 counseling events being held by CMS officials around the country.
To sustain awareness, CMS has executed a multi-faceted outreach campaign on national and local levels, said CMS Administrator Donald Berwick.
As of December 13, the Medicare website had processed more than 353,000 enrollments since open enrollment period began on November 15, Berwick reported. This is an increase over the same time last year, when 327,000 beneficiary enrollments were completed.
CMS also reported more than 118 million page views on www.medicare.gov since October 15, a rate of more than 4 million views per day. The agency also reported 67 million page views of the Plan Finder tool.
Between November 15 and December 14, Medicare customer service representatives received more than 2.7 million calls to 1-800-MEDICARE, an increase over the same time period in 2009, when the call volume was 2.42 million, CMS said.
"While independent consumer surveys show that people with Medicare are very satisfied with their current coverage, our goal during this time is to get beneficiaries to focus on getting the most out of their Medicare benefits and to use all of the information and resources available to make informed and confident decisions," Berwick said.
Berwick said CMS is urging Medicare beneficiaries to focus on open enrollment and, if they need help understanding their options, be aware that they can get help locally in their home communities or seek assistance from state-based senior health advocates.
Community partners can help Medicare beneficiaries use the tools on www.medicare.gov that let people compare costs and coverage and find prescription drug and health plan options that best fit their needs for 2011.
"After comparing plans, if beneficiaries are satisfied with their current plan's benefits in 2011, they don't need to do anything," Berwick said. "If another option will provide a better match for their needs, there is still time to change."
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said people with Medicare should be aware of new benefits provided under the Affordable Care Act next year, including recommended preventive health services without cost-sharing and discounts on covered brand-name prescription drugs in the Medicare prescription drug coverage doughnut hole.