For July 4th, 66% of Retirees Using a Health Insurance Exchange Declare They Have Health Care Independence

BURLINGAME, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--An independent survey of 563 retirees who use a health insurance exchange to choose private Medicare plans revealed that 66% declared they have health care independence. When asked to define “health care independence,” retirees’ top two responses were “I can find plans that let me go to the doctors I want to see,” and “I have choices about the health care plans I buy.”

“The level of choice that is available in our exchange is just not available any other way in our health care system today.”

The survey was fielded June 25-July 2, the week before the Independence Day holiday, by Extend Health, Inc., which operates the largest private Medicare exchange in the country at www.ExtendHealth.com.

The questions and detailed results from the survey are as follows:

Do you feel you have health care independence?

Yes		66%

No		21%

Don’t know		13%

Which statement(s) best describes what it means to have health care independence? (Please select no more than two.)


I can find plans that let me go to the		49%
doctors I want to see

I have choices about the health care		42%
plans I buy

I can choose how to spend the money my		36%
former employer gives me for health care
benefits

I can freely compare plans and prices from		34%
different health insurers

I can get the plan that is right for me		30%
at a price I can afford

I can find plans that help pay for the		26%
prescription drugs I need

I can get find a plan that is right for me		18%
no matter where in the United States I live

No answer		4%

“The survey shows that retirees who use an exchange are empowered with choice – and choice is what defines their health care independence. These retirees have choice in the doctors and health care plans they select, and in how to spend the money their former employers provide them for health care benefits,” said Bryce Williams, President and CEO of Extend Health. “The level of choice that is available in our exchange is just not available any other way in our health care system today.”

About Extend Health:

Extend Health, Inc. was founded in 2004 to serve Medicare-eligible retirees and their corporate sponsors. The company operates the country’s largest private Medicare exchange and has helped more than 250,000 retirees compare and choose the private Medicare plan that best meets their needs and budgets. With Extend Health employer solutions, Fortune 500 companies, unions, and municipalities can save up to 35% on retiree health care compared to legacy employer group plans. For more information, visit Extend Health on the web at http://www.extendhealth.com.