Brand Loyalty for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplemental Providers

This is the third in a series of findings of Data Decisions Group’s 2022 Medicare Preferences Study. Here, we review brand loyalty metrics for the category overall. In Article #4, we’ll look at the same information among the major providers individually.

Satisfaction with providers among Medicare consumers is extraordinarily high; 94% of plan members are somewhat or completely satisfied with their plans. When it comes time to renew, 89% say they probably or definitely stay with their current providers. And the Net Promoter Score among plan members is 59%. There are no statistically significant differences in these statistics between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement members. This satisfaction performance is consistent with some 2021 findings published by the Kaiser Family Foundation where “95% of Medicare beneficiaries report being very satisfied or satisfied with the quality of their medical care.”¹

A deeper look, however, betrays a softness in those loyalty numbers. Twice as many consumers (63%) say they’re completely satisfied with their plan as those who are somewhat satisfied (31%). Yet roughly equal proportions—42% to 47%--say they’re probably or definitely likely to stay with their plan at their next AEP opportunity to switch.

Data Decisions Group conducted the 2022 Medicare Preferences Study, a large, nationwide study of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement alternatives among 2,324 current Medicare-qualified consumers and 64-year-olds who will become eligible soon. The online study was fielded between March 28 and April 11, 2022. The margin of error for this study is approximately ± 1.5%.

 ¹Ochieng, N., Biniek, J. F., Schwartz, K., and Neuman, T. (2021, May 17). Medicare-Covered Older Adults Are Satisfied with Their Coverage, Have Similar Access to Care as Privately-Insured Adults Ages 50 to 64, And Fewer Report Cost-Related Problems. Kaiser Family Foundation. www.kff.org.