Family Members and Friends Who Help Beneficiaries Make Health Decisions

People enrolled in Medicare often turn to family members and friends for help in making health decisions, including Medicare health plan choices. To learn how family members and friends participate in decisionmaking, what information they currently use, and what information they would like, we held eight focus groups in San Diego and Baltimore. Although responses were different in the two markets, participants in both cities reported receiving inadequate information and indicated they were largely unaware of available CMS-supported information. Beneficiaries want easy-to-use print materials targeted to their needs and opportunities to participate in seminars and receive personal counseling.