Medicare Advantage continues to play an important role in the Medicare market, but new research highlights a growing challenge for both beneficiaries and the agents who serve them: healthcare costs are rising, plan structures are becoming more complex, and many members are struggling to understand what their coverage will actually cost.
According to the recently released J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Medicare Advantage Study, overall Medicare Advantage member satisfaction declined for the second consecutive year. Satisfaction fell 12 points in 2026 and is now 41 points lower than it was in 2024.
InvestmentNews recently highlighted the findings, pointing to rising prescription drug and outpatient costs, narrower provider networks, and growing concerns among beneficiaries about whether their health plans are helping them navigate those challenges.
For Medicare agents, there is an important message behind the numbers.
As Medicare becomes more complicated, the value of knowledgeable, well-supported independent agents becomes greater, not smaller.
One of the most telling findings from the J.D. Power study involves trust.
Only 43% of Medicare Advantage members surveyed strongly agreed that their plan acts as a trusted partner in their health and wellness. The research also found substantial differences between members who understood their coverage well and those who did not.
That understanding gap creates an opportunity for agents.
Clients increasingly need help looking beyond premiums and headline benefits to understand factors such as:
This makes thoughtful plan comparisons and year-round client education increasingly important.
For agents, the objective should not simply be finding a Medicare Advantage plan. It should be helping clients understand the tradeoffs between the options available in their market.
PSM's guide to explaining Medicare Advantage vs. Medicare Supplement coverage is one resource agents can use when having those broader conversations.
Rising costs and changing plan designs understandably generate concern, but Medicare agents have worked through substantial market changes before.
Carrier footprints change. Benefits change. Regulations change. Compensation models evolve. Consumer expectations change.
The most resilient agencies are generally those built to adapt rather than depend on a single carrier, product, marketing channel, or enrollment season.
That is becoming an increasingly important business strategy.
An agent heavily concentrated in one product line can be disproportionately affected when market conditions change. Building a broader portfolio can create additional ways to help existing clients while making an agency less dependent on any one segment of the market.
PSM recently explored this issue in Why Agents Who Rely on One Product Line Are Exposed in 2026.
For a Medicare-focused agent, diversification does not necessarily mean trying to sell everything.
It could mean strategically adding complementary solutions such as:
The goal is to create a stronger business around the clients and relationships an agent already has.
Changing costs and benefits also reinforce the importance of annual client reviews.
A plan that worked well for a beneficiary previously may not remain the best fit indefinitely. Prescription needs can change. Providers can leave networks. Benefits can change. A client's financial or health circumstances can change as well.
That creates an opportunity for agents to move away from a purely transactional enrollment model and toward an ongoing advisory relationship.
Instead of hearing from their agent only when enrollment season arrives, clients can benefit from someone who helps them understand changes, evaluate options and prepare for the year ahead.
That type of relationship can also contribute to stronger retention, referrals and cross-marketing opportunities.
The same market dynamics affecting agents should also change what agents expect from an FMO.
Carrier contracts and commission processing are important, but they are increasingly just the foundation.
In a rapidly changing insurance market, an FMO should also help agents answer questions such as:
Where are the emerging opportunities?
How can I diversify without making my business unnecessarily complicated?
How can I communicate changes to clients effectively?
Which technologies can make my agency more efficient?
How can I create additional revenue from the clients I already serve?
How do I build a business that can withstand changes in carriers, regulations and consumer behavior?
This is where PSM Brokerage continues to invest.
We are developing and expanding tools, training, marketing resources and business strategies designed to help independent agents build stronger agencies regardless of how individual markets evolve.
Agents working with PSM can access Medicare agent resources, carrier and product support, marketing assistance, enrollment technology, training and experienced account managers who can help agents identify opportunities within their business.
Our Medicare product portfolio also gives agents the ability to evaluate multiple Medicare solutions rather than building their business around a single carrier or strategy.
One of the biggest opportunities may already be sitting inside an agent's existing book of business.
Agents can evaluate their current client base and ask:
Are there protection gaps we have never discussed?
Are clients relying on me for Medicare but going elsewhere for other insurance needs?
Are there products that naturally complement the coverage I already provide?
Are there clients I only communicate with once each year?
Are there opportunities for referrals, reviews or additional household relationships?
PSM created the Insurance Agent Opportunity Calculator to help agents think through exactly these types of opportunities and estimate how expanding their product mix could affect their business.
Agents can also explore our resources on cross-marketing in the senior insurance market for practical ways to deepen existing client relationships.
The latest Medicare Advantage satisfaction numbers deserve attention, particularly because they show how strongly costs, coverage understanding and trust can influence the member experience.
But they also reinforce something successful insurance professionals already understand.
The market will continue to change.
The answer is not trying to predict every change. It is building an agency capable of responding to them.
That means maintaining access to competitive carriers, expanding knowledge across complementary products, strengthening client relationships, using technology effectively and continually looking for new ways to create value.
At PSM Brokerage, that is how we view the role of an FMO.
Not simply helping agents contract with carriers, but helping them build businesses capable of growing through changing markets.
If you are evaluating your current FMO relationship or looking for additional support growing your Medicare business, learn more about PSM Brokerage as a Medicare FMO.