11-12-25 DARREN GRUBB - MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MAJORITY

Darren Grubb discussed the findings of their caregiver survey as it pertains to Medicare Advantage.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Time to Welcome to the program, Darren, grubby is with
Medicare Advantage Majority. They are a group, a consortium, I
guess you'd say, trying to represent caretakers really throughout the
healthcare system, and that encompasses a lot of different things. Darren,
First of all, welcome to the program.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Tom bas be wid you, thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
I guess sort of explain that first to Medicare Advantage Majority,
what you guys are and what you try to do here.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, we are a non partisan, nonprofit organization focused on
protecting and strengthening the Medicare Advantage program. So our grassroots
coalition around the nation's powered by one hundreds of thousands
of advocates, including and officiaries and caregivers and healthcare providers,
community leaders, really the entire caregiving ecosystem, and over thirty

(00:51):
four million American seniors and people with disabilities choose Medicare Advantage.
In Ohio alone, more than one point four million seniors
are on Medicare Advantage. That's fifty five percent of your
eligible senior population. And Medicare advantage is popular for many reasons,
but it's program that delivers comprehensive, high quality and affordable

(01:12):
care that goes beyond traditional fe for service Medicare, and
so Medicare advantage offers benefits that include dental coverage, vision
hearing in home care, and unlike traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage
provides prescription drug coverage that Medicare part needs to hear
so much about, and a cap on out of pocket
costs every year, which gives seniors, you know, financial peace

(01:35):
of mind, especially during these inflationary times that we're in
right now.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
So essentially Medicare advantage is like health insurance on top
of Medicare.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Medicare advantage is the public private partnership between the government
and plan providers the private sector to administer the Medicare program. Correct,
But there is a distinction from the traditional medical care program,
which is you know, administered from the federal and state
governments directly to consumers. So Medicare advantage offers benefits that

(02:08):
are not automatically included. Most plans include benefits that are
not included in in traditional Medicare plans.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
And with that, the Medicare Advantage majority of which Darren
is representing here did a caretaker survey and I guess
this is trying to figure out how you can help
them most. As you look at some of the big
takeaways from the survey, Darren head us with at least
the first couple of highlights you think are most important.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, you know, we've found that Medicare advantage is not
only important for the beneficiaries, but also to the family
members who are often the primary caregivers for the senior
in their lives. And so that could be a spouse,
but more often than not, it's a child or a
grandchild even of a senior. And so you know that
we found that there's high awareness among caregivers about the

(02:59):
benefits and the survey us is that Medicare Advantage provides
and how it impacts them. So a few numbers, eighty
seven percent of the caregivers that we surveyed are aware
of the benefits and features of the Medicare Advantage program.
Eighty two percent of satisfied with the coverage and the
care provided to the senior that they support. You know,
and Todd, this is important for you know a lot

(03:19):
of caregivers who like me, belong to the Sandwich generation.
And so for example, my wife and I have young
children at home to take care, but we also have
aging parents and aging family members who need more care
than they did even a few years ago in the world,
becoming more and more responsible for helping them too as caregivers.
And so, you know, Medicare advantage provides significant peace of

(03:39):
mind that helps millions of families around the country balance
work and childcare and caregiving responsibilities, driving kids to sporting events,
not to mention managing helping the manage expenses for the
senior in high inflationary times that we're still fighting our
way out of.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
We're talking about Darren Grubb from the Medicare Advantage Majority.
They did a caretaker survey. What about I think, as
you were just explaining your situation. Sure, certainly the budgetary
concerns are big, but what about time management? What did
you find in that regard?

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Absolutely, we found that over half of the caregivers, say
at least five hours per month thanks to mandaic ther advantage,
that number goes up to around ten hours per month
for those with children of their own at home, you know.
So that's important. So it's making a real world measurable
difference for families who have a lot to manage, you know,
especially if a caregiver is having to take off work

(04:38):
to manage a doctor's appointment or a prescription joint delivery
for their senior if they've got to take kids to school.
I mean, there are elements in the Medicare Advantage program
that just saved time for caregivers who have to juggle.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
And this is the time of year where this stuff
is getting re upped or you're opting in to it
for the first time. Even are we still in that timeframe?

Speaker 2 (05:04):
Correct? This is the open enrollment period I guess for
the next few weeks through December the seventh, okay, and
so yeah, and so seniors have a chance. You know,
a big component of the entire Medicare program is choice,
of course, is a big component. And every year seniors
have the opportunity to either re enroll in their current
program or make a switch to a different program where

(05:26):
it's Medicare, Medicare Advantage, whatever program best meets their needs.
And that's what we encourage seniors to do, is to
consider what they need in their lives for healthcare coverage
in the coming year. You know, one benefit of Medicare advantage.
Another benefit of the Medicare advantage is that it caters
to people with multiple chronic conditions, and so someone who's

(05:50):
managing diabetes or heart disease or high blood pressure. The
Medicare Advantage has an approach. It is a coordinated care approach.
Often you have a single point of contact to and
help manage and get you to who you need to see,
whether it is your primary provider or a specialist. Uh,
you know, a preventative wellness plan and those types of
things are are are you know, critical features of the

(06:11):
Medicare Advantage plan.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
So there are multiple options for Medicare advantage. Take me
through how people can sort of sort through it.

Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yeah, you know, we represent the entire coalition. We don't
represent anyone provider, anyone plan, and so you know, we
do encourage seniors to to do their homework and to
speak with their plan providers, their healthcare providers, to speak
with friends and family who may be on a program already.
Just again understand the benefits to best meet your needs.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Is there a don't know, a web portal or a
service that kind of gives you an overview or are
you just kind of wild wild west doing some search
in here?

Speaker 2 (06:52):
You know, there there are a lot of platforms out
there that do kind of provide that that that information.
You know, you can go to our website to learn
more about the issue, to learn about our coalition, learn
how to get involved. You know, we're really focused on
making sure the members of Congress, if they look to
the future, don't target Medicare Advantage for potential budget cuts,

(07:13):
because funding cuts to this Medicare Advantage program would pass
billions and costs on the seniors who are going to
pay higher premiums and have higher deductibles, hire out of
pocket costs, and potentially have less access to the doctors
and services that they need. And this is important too, Dodd.
You know, cuts to Medicare Advantage would have an outsized
impact on rural communities, on our veterans, you know, but

(07:34):
people with chronic conditions, low income seniors. And here's the
bottom linees we see at President Trump campaign on protecting
the Medicare Advantage program. Any effort by Congress to cut
funding to this program would be counter to Prisident Trump's
promise to stand up and stand behind Medicare Advantage.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
That's Darren Grubb with the Medicare Advantage Majority, talking about
some of their findings of Medicare advantage and the high points,
if you will, according to their Caretakers survey, Darren, we
appreciate you taking time for us today.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Thanks so much for having me on. I appreciate it.