Medicare patients are happier with their coverage than those who are self-insurance or have health insurance from their employer, a new survey shows.
The Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan health-care policy group, says that people over 65 who are on Medicare are happier with their coverage, their access to care, and the ease with which they pay medical bills.
The organization said that just 8 percent of Medicare patients who were surveyed rated their care as fair or poor, while the figure was 20 percent of those in employer-sponsored plans and 33 percent of those who bought their own insurance.
At the same time, patients on all three plans went without some necessary care because of the cost. The figure was 23 percent of Medicare patients, while those in employer-sponsored health plans and those who bought their own insurance had a sharply higher rate of 39 percent.
Within the Medicare-patient groups, more people were satisfied with traditional Medicare than with the Medicare Advantage Plan, which is offered by private insurance companies. Fifty percent of MAP patients were dissatisfied with their coverage, while only .
