DSS survey finds half of seniors
will not enroll for Part D benefits
FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 19
/PRNewswire/ -- DSS Research today announced the findings of
the latest wave of its quarterly, national SeniorTrax(TM)
survey. The third wave, completed in mid-December, concluded
that half of seniors have absolutely no plans to enroll for
Part D benefits. The survey asked seniors whether they had
selected a Part D plan and were given three options of
responding: Yes; No, but I plan on doing so; No and I have
no plans to do so.
Less than one quarter
(24%) said they had chosen a Part D plan. They were
almost evenly split between stand alone PDPs (54%) and MA-PDPs
(46%).
Less than one quarter (23%) said they had not chosen a Part
D plan, but intend to do so.
Over half (53%) said they
had not chosen one and have no plans to do so. (Current
coverage: Medigap - 37%, Medicare Advantage - 47% and
Medicare Only - 66%).
These findings are
consistent with our predictions of six months ago. Part D is
just too expensive and inferior to the coverage seniors are
familiar with," said DSS president and CEO Roger Gates.
Highlights of the December
study include:
Disinterested, non-buyers
are lowest users of medical services. Those who said they
had not chosen a plan and had no plans to do so take fewer
prescriptions; spend less on prescriptions; go to the doctor
less often; and make fewer ER, inpatient hospital and
outpatient clinic / surgery center visits.
Disinterested, non-buyers
are more affluent. Members of this group report higher
levels of education, substantially higher levels of income
and are more likely to be married than are members of the
other two groups. The groups do not differ in terms of age
and other demographic characteristics.
Likely buyers are less
cynical, deal prone, do it yourselfers. We tested a battery
of attitude statements and found:
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of
those who indicated that they had not chosen a Part D plan
but intend to do so agree with the statement "redeeming
coupons makes me feel good."
They are also most likely,
across the three groups, to agree with the statement "I try
to deal with my health problems on my own before I go to a
doctor."
They are the least cynical
of the three groups with a significantly higher likelihood
to agree with the statement "In general, companies are
honest in their dealings with the consumer."
Further, they are
significantly more likely to agree with the statement "I
prefer not to pay attention to information involving
numbers." In other words, they are most approachable with
messages that do not show the numbers.
Familiarity with Part D
has increased significantly since September. One quarter of
seniors were "very familiar" with Part D in December,
compared to 11% in September and 8% in June. Over 73% were
somewhat or very familiar with Part D by mid-December.
Accurate knowledge of Part D benefits has also increased.
Sixty-eight percent of seniors answered at least five of six
questions correctly regarding Part D coverage in December,
while only 23% were able to provide the correct answers in
September. However, the "lock-in" period is still the least
understood aspect of Part D, tripping up over half of
seniors surveyed in December.
Almost all seniors (97%)
have seen or heard advertising for Part D in December
compared to 80% in September. Recall of carriers has also
increased significantly since September. Only 55% of seniors
who heard or saw advertising in September could name the
specific carrier who sponsored the ad, while 83% did so in
December. AARP, newspapers, magazines, health insurance
companies, friends, agents, employers, seminars and local
seniors groups were all mentioned more frequently in
December as sources of information on Part D. The most
frequent sources in December were: AARP (56%), health
insurance companies (51%), Social Security office/web site
(45%), newspapers (43%) and TV (35%).