Average Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs for Medicare+Choice Enrollees Increase Substantially in 2002

Medicare+Choice plans cut back on benefits such as prescription drug coverage in 2002 while enrollees faced a 40 percent rise in monthly premiums and substantial cost-sharing increases for their health care. The increases weighed most heavily on those in poor health, whose out-of-pocket costs are estimated to rise 34 percent in 2002, compared with a 20 percent increase for those in good health.