Medigap enrollment among new Medicare beneficiaries : how many 65-year olds enroll in plans with first-dollar coverage? Issue brief (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation) Jacobson, Gretchen, author. Neuman, Tricia, author. Damico, Anthony, author. Cost Sharing -- economics Financing, Personal -- economics Insurance Coverage -- economics Insurance, Health -- economics Insurance, Medigap -- economics Medicare -- economics Medicare Part C -- economics Over the past several years, policymakers have considered a variety of proposals to discourage or prohibit people on Medicare from purchasing first-dollar supplemental insurance, often in the context of deficit and debt reduction efforts. On March 26, 2015, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which would replace the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, among other changes; the bill is currently pending in the U.S. Senate. H.R. 2 includes a provision that would prohibit Medicare supplemental insurance (Medigap) policies from covering the Part B deductible for people who become eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. This provision is designed to make future Medigap purchasers more price-sensitive when it comes to medical care, which could lead to a reduction in the use of health services and Medicare spending. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the Medigap provision in H.R.2 would reduce federal spending by about $400 million between 2020 and 2025.3 To help cover Medicare’s cost-sharing requirements, most people on Medicare have some source of coverage that supplements Medicare, including Medigap policies (23%), employer or union-sponsored retiree health plans (35%), and Medicaid for individuals with low-incomes (19%). The two most popular Medigap policies are plans C and F, which are the only standard Medigap plans that cover the Part B deductible. In addition, a growing share of Medicare beneficiaries are covered under Medicare Advantage plans (about 30%), which often provide first-dollar coverage. H.R. 2 would restrict first-dollar coverage for Medigap policies, but not other sources of supplemental coverage, such as retiree health plans or Medicare Advantage. This data note looks at the number and share of “new” Medicare beneficiaries who would be affected by the Medigap provision in H.R. 2, if it had been implemented in 2010, using the most current data sources available, and examines trends in Medigap enrollment among new beneficiaries since 2000. Menlo Park, CA : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, April 2015 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, issuing body. Technical Report Text Illustrations 1 online resource (1 PDF file (3 pages, 1 unnumbered page)) nlm:nlmuid-101670468-pdf 101670468 http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101670468 English United States Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0