Group Medicare Advantage Plans Explained

How Group Benefits Brokers can bring solutions to their Employer clients

You may have noticed the increase in interest and enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans but may not understand how Group Medicare plans work for employers.

Medicare Advantage plans are available to retirees on an individual enrollment level, but they can also be offered by plan sponsors to current and former employees. These plans may be referred to as Group Medicare Advantage plans, Employer Group Waiver Plans (EGWPs) or — more commonly — as Group Medicare plans. The purpose of Group Medicare plans is to enable employers to provide health plans to their retirees.

How they work

Historically, Original Medicare would cover about 80 to 85% of claims for Medicare-eligible retirees. Then, retirees and eligible employees could search for a Medicare secondary plan (sometimes also referred to as Medicare Supplemental) to cover the rest.

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