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December 06, 2018 at 05:26 PM
Consumers might have thought more about Medicare plan shopping this fall than they did in 2016 and 2017.
The annual election period for 2019 coverage started Oct. 15 and is set to end tomorrow. Most issuers are keeping their latest Medicare Advantage plan and Medicare Part D drug plan sales activity numbers quiet, as they always do.
But a look at Google Trends data shows that search activity for terms related to Medicare plan shopping has been significantly stronger this year than in the past two years.
(Related: Medicare Annual Election Period Sails to an End)
Google, a search engine company, makes the Trends tool available here.
People can use the tool to see what terms other people are searching for, and, possibly, thinking about.
Google search traffic for the term “Medicare plan” soared in 2005, when the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan program came to life.
After that, search traffic for the term fell sharply, even during the annual election periods.
Annual election period search activity for the term has increased most years since then.
