Medicare Advantage plans from health insurers have grown so popular that more people are in them than in Original Medicare due to their extra benefits, out-of-pocket caps and, often, lower costs. One other thing that’s grown: dissatisfaction with the plans.
“I just met with an acquaintance who’d signed up for Medicare Advantage because Costco was in the network and she'd get her glasses for a lower price. Well, this year Costco's not in that network and she's not happy about it,” says Diane Omdahl, president of 65 Incorporated, a Medicare consultant. “The closest eye provider she would want to see is now 25 miles away.”
An all-time high in switching Medicare Advantage plans
Medicare Advantage plan switching during the 2025 annual enrollment period late last year equaled the all-time high of 2015, according to the Deft Research 2025 Medicare Shopping and Switching Study.
“A dark cloud has been forming over Medicare Advantage plans these last few years,” Deft CEO George Dippel recently posted on LinkedIn. In a recent Deft survey, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries scored the program 10 points lower than in 2024 on a scale of 0 to 100.
Some Medicare Advantage insurers feeling a financial squeeze have been trimming benefits that aren’t offered by Original Medicare (such as dental, vision, hearing and fitness memberships), raising premiums and deductibles, charging substantially more for prescriptions or dropping coverage of certain medications.
“Medicare Advantage providers are running a business and being profitable is a top priority for them. Unfortunately, that means a disruption in services or increased costs for some enrollees,” says Elizabeth Ayoola, host of NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast.
What’s been happening and what’s ahead
The Better Medicare Alliance, a Medicare Advantage research and advocacy organization, says Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are more likely than Original Medicare enrollees to report receiving certain preventative care services and being satisfied with the ease of getting to their doctor.
However, the Alliance said in a September 2024 press release, “millions of seniors could see disruptions to their Medicare Advantage coverage next year, including plan closures, higher out-of-pocket costs, and fewer supplemental benefits that close coverage gaps.”
More than 30 health systems dropped Medicare Advantage plans in 2024 due to administrative challenges, according to Becker’s Hospital CFO Report.
Insurers have also been canceling some of nearly 4,000 Medicare Advantage plans (known as Medicare Part C). “Medicare Advantage carriers terminated policies for 1.8 million members last year,” says Dippel.
Despite growing frustration with Medicare Advantage plans, Dippel noted, membership has been rising because many people 65 and older believe the program is more affordable than Original Medicare.
Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment advice
People in Medicare Advantage plans are now in the middle of the Open Enrollment period ending March 31 allowing them to either change plans or switch to Original Medicare.
“I’ve heard from some people who have been in their 2025 Medicare Advantage plans for a month and a half and have seen that their medications are not covered this year,” says Omdahl. “They've got a chance to fix that now.”
Says Jeannie Fugelsten Biniek, associate director for KFF’s Program on Medicare Policy: “If somebody’s in a Medicare Advantage plan and they’re not happy, it does not hurt to look and see if there’s something else. And if a doctor they have been seeing is now out-of-network, they can see if that doctor's in network in another plan in their area.”
Searching for the best Medicare Advantage plan, or determining whether to instead switch to Original Medicare, can be a chore, however.
“I think people would rather have a colonoscopy than to go through the Medicare shopping experience every year,” says Fran Soistman, CEO of eHealth, the nation’s largest private health insurance market.
Says Ayoola: “While it may be stressful, frustrating and even cause a lot of financial stress, [comparing Medicare Advantage choices] could pose an opportunity for you to get a cheaper plan with better benefits.”
Despite rising Medicare Advantage plan terminations, there are many plans to choose from. The average Medicare beneficiary had access to 43 plans in 2024, according to KFF. Medicare’s free online Plan Finder offers a directory of all the plans where you live and lets you compare their costs and coverage.
Falling stars for Medicare Advantage plans
Finding a great Medicare Advantage plan isn’t so easy, though. Only 7% of plans with Part D prescription coverage get 5 stars by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“It's really important during this open enrollment period to take inventory of your plan, look at what benefits are available and make sure you're getting the most for the money that you are paying,” says Ayoola.
Only two in five Medicare Advantage enrollees use the plans’ dental or vision benefits and just one in 15 take advantage of their hearing benefits, according to a February 2025 study by The Commonwealth Fund.
Keep in mind, though, that nearly all Medicare Advantage plans require prior authorization—a doctor or health care provider must get approval from Medicare before providing you certain services. McKnights Long-Term Care News reports a wave of consumer complaints and federal investigations regarding Medicare Advantage insurers’ prior authorization policies.
The perils of prior authorization
“Last year I spoke with a gentleman who went into Medicare Advantage because he was going to save almost $200 a month on his gym membership. But then he was in a car crash and his doctor wanted him to go to a rehab facility,” says Omdahl. “He ran into a prior authorization problem and says to me: ‘What good is this gym membership if I cannot get rehab?’”
“It’s not surprising that people are unsatisfied with Medicare Advantage when the cost is going up and prior authorization is an issue,” says Ayoola.
In roughly half of Medicare Advantage plans, you can only go to doctors and hospitals in their network. In others, you can go out-of-network but will pay more for the privilege.
Who can help you make smart choices
For advice about Medicare Advantage plans, you can get free assistance at your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, also known as SHIP.
A SHIP counselor can’t recommend a particular plan, however. For that, you might want to work with a Medicare broker or agent who generally gets paid from Medicare Advantage insurers. “A lot of people use brokers and find them helpful,” says Biniek.
If you do decide to drop out of the Medicare Advantage program and enroll in Original Medicare’s Parts A and B, you’ll almost certainly want to also sign up for a Medicare Part D prescription plan.
Because Original Medicare only pays for up to 80% of covered medical costs, you’ll probably want to try to buy a Medicare Supplemental, or Medigap, plan, too. It won’t be cheap.
“2025 is shaping up to be the second year in a row where possibly 50% or more of MedSupp seniors may see double-digit premium increases,” Dippel wrote on LinkedIn.
You’ll be guaranteed Medigap coverage if your Medicare Advantage plan was cancelled. But if you’re choosing to exit your plan, you can be turned down for Medigap in all but four states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New York).
The Trump administration and Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage analysts believe the Trump administration will help make insurers’ plans more profitable, which could stem beneficiary complaints, rising costs and a reduction in benefits.
“I expect to see the Trump administration do some things that will give a catalyst to enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans,” says Bill Melville, lead health care research and data analyst for Clarivate Commercial Strategy Consulting at a recent Fierce Pharma webinar.
EHealth’s Soistman noted that the new Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan and that Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has been a proponent of the plans.
“If you go back to the first Trump administration, it was a stable period for Medicare Advantage,” Soistman added. “I just think there’s reason for cautious optimism that the program could be entering a period of greater stability.”
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