Major healthcare insurers, including UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Cigna, and Aetna, are unveiling their 2024 Medicare Advantage plans, prioritizing affordability and added benefits. These plans feature $0 monthly premiums, cost-effective prescription drug coverage, and services addressing social determinants of health. UnitedHealthcare is expanding coverage, and introducing convenient mobile features. Humana is expanding its reach and enhancing benefits based on member feedback. Cigna offers $0 premium plans across 29 states with extensive benefits. CVS Health/Aetna extends coverage to 46 states and adds new benefits, emphasizing $0 premium options and wellness initiatives. These offerings reflect a growing focus on comprehensive, accessible senior healthcare.
As the Medicare open enrollment period draws near, several major players in the healthcare industry, including UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Cigna, and Aetna, have unveiled their Medicare Advantage plan offerings for 2024. These plans aim to provide a range of benefits while keeping premiums and prescription drug costs affordable for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.
Medicare Advantage plans have the flexibility to offer benefits beyond traditional Medicare, allowing them to differentiate themselves in the market. In 2024, these major payers have focused on $0 monthly premiums, cost-effective prescription drug coverage, and services addressing social determinants of health. With a combined membership of 18.3 million and a 60 percent share of the Medicare Advantage market, the offerings from these payers provide insights into the evolving landscape of senior healthcare and the choices available to consumers.
UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is expanding its coverage area, aiming to reach 96 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries. They offer a convenient online hub, the UCard, for members to access benefits and manage appointments. In 2024, UnitedHealthcare plans to enhance this feature by introducing a mobile product scanner, enabling members to verify benefit eligibility for covered products while shopping in-store. Additionally, a mobile UCard will simplify the payment process for merchants.
The payer has extended its reach to an additional 700,000 eligible Medicare Advantage members in 110 new counties, along with 2.7 million more eligible for their chronic special needs plans. Dental, hearing, and vision coverage will continue to be offered, and UnitedHealthcare boasts one of the largest networks for medical providers and dental, vision, and hearing services, as well as a sizable pharmacy network.
In 2024, UnitedHealthcare members can expect stable or lower maximum out-of-pocket costs compared to 2023. Standard Medicare Advantage plans will offer $0 copays for virtual visits, mammograms, colonoscopies, and routine dental, vision, and hearing exams.
Humana
Humana’s 2024 offerings have been influenced by member feedback. All their Medicare Advantage plans will include dental, vision, and hearing benefits, with dental plans covering preventive services at no additional cost. Prescription drug coverage will encompass hundreds of common generic medications, including those for high cholesterol, depression, and high blood pressure. Members also have access to CenterWell Pharmacy, which delivers medications to their homes or chosen locations.
Humana’s dual-eligible special needs plans offer $0 copays on Part D prescriptions and a monthly Healthy Options Allowance for essentials like healthy foods, rent, and utility bills.
Humana has expanded its reach to 39 new counties in 2024, offering Open Network Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans in select markets. These plans allow members to see any Medicare-accepting provider with the same copay for both in-network and out-of-network visits. Over half of projected Medicare beneficiaries will have access to a $0 monthly premium plan in 2024.
Cigna
Cigna will extend its Medicare Advantage plans to 29 states in 2024, expanding coverage to 25 additional counties for a total of 603. Each market will feature a $0 premium plan, with most plans offering $0 copays for primary care. Many markets will also provide rebates towards members’ Medicare Part B monthly premiums.
Cigna’s benefits will encompass dental, vision, hearing services, home-delivered meals after hospitalization, and fitness benefits. Some plans will even offer transportation services to and from medical appointments, caregiver support programs, and allowances for over-the-counter health-related products.
Cigna members can utilize the myCigna app for accessing health and claims data and accessing virtual care options for nonemergency urgent care, behavioral healthcare, and dermatology services. The Cigna Healthy Today card includes wellness incentives and allowances for groceries and utilities, depending on the plan.
Cigna will offer three standalone prescription drug plans in 2024, each featuring $0 copay options for specific medications purchased through preferred home delivery.
CVS Health/Aetna
Aetna, a CVS Health company, has expanded its Medicare Advantage coverage to 46 states and Washington, DC, in 2024. They’ve added 255 new counties, reaching an additional 2.2 million beneficiaries and bringing the total number of counties with available plans to 2,269.
Nearly 85 percent of eligible Medicare beneficiaries will have access to Aetna Medicare Advantage plans with a $0 monthly premium. Aetna has also extended its dual-eligible special needs plans to 433 new counties, offering $0 Part D drugs, dental, vision, hearing coverage, and allowances for everyday living expenses.
Aetna introduces SmartFit plans, designed for prescription drug plan customers considering switching to a Medicare Advantage plan. These plans include $0 in-network primary care visits, $0 Tier 1 generics at preferred pharmacies, and a fitness membership to SilverSneakers, along with an annual fitness reimbursement benefit.
Aetna Medicare Advantage members will benefit from recent CVS Health acquisitions, including annual home health visits through Signify Health, and access to Oak Street Health primary care clinics nationwide, further enhancing coordinated primary care delivery.
These Medicare Advantage offerings for 2024 reflect a commitment from major payers to provide affordable, comprehensive, and innovative healthcare options to seniors, offering a glimpse into the evolving landscape of senior healthcare.
