Extend Health Survey: 3 Weeks Away from Deadline for Supercommittee Deficit Reduction Plan, Survey Reveals Seniors’ Confid

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Respondents more certain that Medicare will be there for the rest of their lives despite heated rhetoric on impending cuts to Medicare

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- With the deadline just three weeks away for the bipartisan deficit reduction panel known as the “supercommittee” to deliver its plan to Congress, a survey of 372 seniors age 65 and older covered by Medicare revealed that 73%¹ of respondents are “somewhat” or “very” confident that Medicare will be there for the rest of their lives. These results compare with respondents’ confidence levels of 69% and 57% when the same question was asked of seniors in surveys conducted in August and July, respectively.

All three surveys were fielded at points in time during debates in Congress and extensive media coverage about whether Medicare should be cut to reduce the national debt. More recently, the content of the debate has switched from “if” Medicare should be cut to “how” and “how much,” making cuts seem inevitable.

Respondents were also asked how confident they are that Medicare will be there for the rest of their children's lives. Answers to this question reveal a less dramatic but still significant decline in respondents’ confidence. In August, 43% of respondents indicated they were “not confident” in Medicare being there for their children. In October, that number rose to 47%, representing a 10% increase.

The current survey was fielded from October 22-25, 2011 by Extend Health, Inc., which operates the nation’s largest private Medicare exchange. The previous two surveys were fielded from August 17-22, 2011 and July 22-27, 2011.

The question on Medicare confidence and detailed results from the three most recent surveys are as follows:

How confident are you that Medicare will be available for the rest of your life?

	October 2011	August 2011	July 2011
Very confident	21.1%	19.8%	15.0%

Somewhat confident	51.7%	49.6%	41.7%

Unsure	17.7%	24.9%	29.9%

Not confident	9.5%	5.7%	13.4%

How confident are you that Medicare will be available for the rest of your children’s lives?

	October 2011	August 2011	July 2011
Very confident	3.0%	2.7%	0.5%

Somewhat confident	12.0%	14.2%	12.9%

Unsure	38.1%	40.1%	42.9%

Not confident	46.9%	43.0%	43.7%

Extend Health has helped more than 380,000 seniors compare and choose the private Medicare plans that meets their needs and budgets. Extend Health is the only place seniors can compare more than 4,000 plans from more than 70 carriers side by side and find a plan that best meets their needs. Licensed benefit advisors are available to help seniors evaluate their Medicare coverage and explore new options quickly and easily.

About Extend Health:

Extend Health, Inc., founded in 2004, operates the largest private Medicare exchange in the country. For more information, visit Extend Health on the web at http://www.extendhealth.com.

Extend Health is a registered trademark of Extend Health, Inc. Other names may be trademarks or servicemarks of their respective owners.

¹ For top line reporting purposes, Extend Health, Inc. rounds percentages up or down as appropriate.