Most Medicare Advantage premiums and out-of-pocket expenses remain flat or even decline in Oregon in 2022. The savings likely reflect reduced use of non-essential medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has started in March 2020, advocates say.

“I’m just wondering if these plans haven’t had very good years in the last couple of years,” said Bruce Bayley, Oregon Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance volunteer in Clackamas County. “People weren’t getting in as much as they should. They haven’t had a bunch of elective surgeries. They didn’t incur a lot of health care costs.

These savings appear to be passed on to Medicare Advantage registrants in the form of slightly lower cost-sharing requirements. Aetna, for example, lowered its maximum disbursement limits – the highest amount a beneficiary must spend on medical care – with a plan dropping from $ 7,550 to $ 5,900. Some plans have reduced co-payments for certain generic prescription drugs.

Health giant Cigna is first introducing Medicare Advantage plans in the Portland area. He joins Aetna and Humana as out-of-state health conglomerates that have recently attempted to break into an already competitive market in Oregon.

Each year, The Oregonian / OregonLive publishes comparison charts (below) to help readers choose the best health insurance plan for them.

Clatsop County, home to 11,000 Medicare-eligible beneficiaries just hours from Portland, will again be without any Medicare Advantage plans. Moda has withdrawn her Medicare Advantage plan from the county for 2021 and has not returned. Moda spokeswoman Emily Camp said the plan was losing money in Clatsop County and should have been subsidized by Medicare beneficiaries in other counties.

Seniors in the Astoria region will need to rely on basic health insurance and a Medicare supplement plan, also known as the Medigap plan, or a stand-alone prescription drug plan from the party. D, or both. Medigap plans may cover more out-of-pocket expenses than Medicare Advantage plans, but they also have higher premiums and, unlike Medicare Advantage plans, premiums often increase with age.

Stand-alone drug plans, also known as Part D plans, have generally increased their premiums slightly, while the average plan deductible is up 9% in Oregon.

–Brent Hunsberger