Poll finds seniors happy with Part D

Seniors are as satisfied with the Medicare drug program as they have been at any point in the past six years, according to an annual tracking poll (PDF).

A national survey of 2,363 seniors found 90% are satisfied with their Medicare Part D coverage, which matches the previous highest satisfaction level found by the annual survey conducted since 2006 by Medicare Today and KRC Research. Medicare Today is a nonprofit advocacy group that provides educational information to Medicare beneficiaries.

“It's very rare to get nine out of 10 people to agree on anything, but Medicare Part D has sustained that level of acceptance and popularity,” Mary Grealy, chairwoman of Medicare Today, said in a news release (PDF).

The lowest level of drug plan satisfaction previously found by the survey was 78% in 2006.

Overall, the survey found 60% of seniors obtain drug coverage from Medicare.

Other findings include more than eight in 10 seniors reporting that their plan is predictable, affordable, reasonable and offers good value; seniors reported their highest levels of satisfaction across all measures tracked, compared to when the survey started in 2006.

However, while 68% of seniors said it was important that Medicare beneficiaries have a variety of drug plans from which to choose, 61% were unaware of the CMS Plan Finder online tool designed to help seniors choose from among health and drug insurance plans for which they qualify.

“At the same time, there is a significant opportunity to educate and empower millions of seniors who are happy with their coverage, but who are not yet focused on this year's open enrollment and the flexibility to change plans,” Mark Richards, senior vice president of KRC Research, said in the news release.