In Miami, Medicare Advantage plans come with posh surroundings

At the Leon Medical Centers’ Healthy Living Facility in Miami, white-gloved doormen wearing porter uniforms usher elderly patients from white vans into a gleaming lobby. Greeters in green vests welcome the Medicare members and make sure their doctors knew that they’d arrived.

According to an article on the Miami Herald website, in addition to meeting with physicians or dentists, Leon members can take healthy cooking classes, exercise in the fitness center or learn to use Facebook.

Companies like Leon are carving out a niche that is increasingly popular with Medicare Advantage beneficiaries — and demonstrating improvements in customer satisfaction and medical outcomes that translate into bigger profits.

According to the article, enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has been growing each year over the past decade — from 5.3 million or 13 percent of all seniors on Medicare in 2003, to 13.1 million or 27 percent of all beneficiaries in 2012. And while the number of plans will decrease from 2,564 in 2013 to 2,429 in 2014, those rated “above average” or better are on the rise, from 27 percent this year to 43 percent in 2014.

For private insurers, the stakes are high: One Medicare Advantage member can deliver two to three times the premium earnings that a younger consumer in the individual market will generate, experts and economists say.

Read the article.