Every fall, the same deadline arrives. From October 15 to December 7, 68 million Americans have to decide their Medicare coverage for the upcoming year. Most of them will make that decision alone, or even worse, not really make it at all.
That’s not because people don’t care about making the right decision. It’s because the decision is hard to make. Nearly all Medicare beneficiaries have more than 10 Medicare Advantage plans to choose from. That’s a lot of paperwork for one person to sort through, especially if that person is managing other health issues at the same time.
The tools to make a good decision already exist. In fact, Medicare’s own plan comparison site lets you check costs, coverage, and provider networks side by side. Another free solution is counseling, which is available through every state’s SHIP program. Even though these tools exist, only 33% of people with Medicare used the internet at all to explore their options, according to University of Michigan research.
This is where families usually assume someone else has it handled. An adult child assumes Dad looked into his options already. A spouse assumes that their partner’s plan will work fine for both of them, since it worked last year. Research shows married couples tend to make Medicare Advantage changes in sync with each other, even though their health needs, medications, and doctors are often completely different. Convenience quietly wins over what’s actually right for each person.
None of this happens because families don’t care. It happens because nobody owns the decision. There’s no single place where the family can see what plan Mom or Dad is on, what’s changing this year, and whether it’s still the right fit. The deadline shows up every fall, and every fall, it gets handled quietly, alone, and often not at all.
This is the same gap Cheriba was built to close. Not by choosing a plan for anyone, but by making sure the people who care about a parent’s health are actually looped in before the decision gets made. A shared, unbiased plan means everyone in the care circle knows the deadline is coming.
Medicare Open Enrollment happens every year, whether families are ready for it or not. The families who treat it like a shared decision, instead of one person’s silent responsibility, are the ones who catch problems before January 1, not after.
Sources: Michigan Medicine / University of Michigan, via ScienceDaily — Millions Are About to Choose the Wrong Medicare Plan; Michigan Medicine — In Sickness and in Health, Older Couples Mostly Make Medicare Moves Together.