Key Takeaways

• Many Medicare Advantage plans in 2025 are reducing or eliminating certain supplemental benefits that were previously standard, such as OTC allowances, transportation services, and fitness programs.

• If you’re a Postal Service retiree or employee transitioning to PSHB, these changes may affect your healthcare strategy—especially if you’re relying on Medicare Advantage to fill coverage gaps.

What’s Changing in Medicare Advantage for 2025

As of 2025, subtle but significant shifts are taking place in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. While these changes aren’t front-page news, they directly impact your healthcare access and costs—especially if you’re part of the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) system and coordinating your benefits with Medicare.

Medicare Advantage plans have historically been popular due to the extra benefits they offer beyond Original Medicare. But this year, some of those extras are quietly vanishing or being scaled back.

Fewer Supplemental Benefits in 2025

In 2024, many Medicare Advantage plans offered a robust suite of supplemental benefits. However, in 2025, the availability of these extras is shrinking:

• Over-the-Counter (OTC) Benefits: These allowances have been reduced in many plans. Fewer options are available for purchasing everyday health items like vitamins, first-aid supplies, and non-prescription medications.

• Transportation Services: Coverage for non-emergency medical transportation is decreasing. In 2024, over one-third of MA plans offered this benefit. That number has dropped in 2025.

• Fitness Programs: Free or low-cost access to gyms and fitness centers is less commonly included. Some plans have eliminated this benefit altogether or restricted access to select locations.

• Meal Delivery: While still available in some chronic condition plans, meal delivery programs are not as widely included in general MA plans in 2025.

These cuts may seem minor until you realize how often you relied on these benefits last year.

Why These Cuts Are Happening

There are several reasons why Medicare Advantage plans are scaling back in 2025:

• Policy Adjustments: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated certain rules around supplemental benefits. This has made it harder for some insurers to justify offering extras that aren’t directly tied to medical care.

• Reallocation of Funds: Plans are diverting more resources toward core medical services, especially for chronically ill or high-need enrollees.

• Plan Consolidation: Fewer total plans are available in 2025, and many smaller plans have merged. With consolidation, there’s often a trade-off in supplemental offerings.

As a PSHB enrollee or annuitant, it’s critical to understand how these industry-wide shifts affect your choices.

How PSHB and Medicare Advantage Interact

Starting January 1, 2025, if you’re a Medicare-eligible USPS retiree or family member, your PSHB coverage is directly impacted by your Medicare enrollment. Here’s how the interaction plays out:

• Medicare Part B Enrollment: If you’re required to enroll in Part B and don’t, you may lose key parts of your PSHB coverage.

• Medicare Advantage Integration: Many PSHB plans offer enhanced benefits for those who coordinate their coverage with Medicare Advantage. These include lower out-of-pocket costs, waived deductibles, and access to expanded pharmacy networks.

But if your MA plan is now offering fewer supplemental benefits, the value of that coordination becomes less certain unless you know exactly what’s being provided.

What You May Lose Without Realizing It

The reductions in Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits may not appear in bold letters on your plan documents. That’s why you need to look closely at the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which outlines every plan change from year to year.

Common benefits disappearing in 2025 include:

• Comprehensive dental (beyond cleanings)

• Vision hardware allowances (such as glasses or lenses)

• Expanded hearing coverage

• In-home support services

You may still have some level of these services, but many plans now offer only the basics or limit coverage to specific conditions or clinical justifications.

Your Costs May Be Higher in the Long Run

If your plan has reduced or removed a supplemental benefit you regularly use, the cost difference shifts to you. For example:

• If transportation coverage is gone, you may now pay out-of-pocket for each ride to a provider.

• If OTC allowances are cut, expect to budget more for common supplies.

• If dental coverage is limited, you may face hundreds of dollars in uncovered expenses for fillings, crowns, or dentures.

These small cuts add up—especially if you’re on a fixed income or planning for long-term care expenses in retirement.

Mid-Year Notifications: A New PSHB Feature

In 2025, a new rule requires Medicare Advantage plans to issue a Mid-Year Enrollee Notification of Unused Supplemental Benefits between June 30 and July 31. This means you’ll receive a personalized report showing which benefits you haven’t used so far.

As a PSHB enrollee, this gives you a clear chance to:

• Make use of remaining benefits before the end of the year

• Reassess how valuable your current MA plan really is

• Consider switching plans during the next Open Season if your needs aren’t being met

How PSHB Responds to These Changes

The PSHB system was designed to integrate closely with Medicare to offer more coordinated care and cost-sharing relief. But its effectiveness depends on the strength of your Medicare Advantage plan.

If your current MA plan cuts key benefits and you’re relying on PSHB for wraparound coverage, you may need to:

• Review your PSHB plan brochure to understand what’s covered by your base plan

• Identify which services are only accessible through Medicare Advantage

• Compare the value of traditional Medicare + PSHB versus MA + PSHB

Remember, PSHB premiums and deductibles are generally fixed, but your total healthcare experience depends on how you structure your Medicare coverage.

Timeline of Key Events in 2025

To stay ahead of these changes, here’s what to keep in mind throughout the year:

• January 1: PSHB officially replaces FEHB for USPS workers and annuitants.

• June 30 to July 31: You receive your Mid-Year Notification from your Medicare Advantage plan.

• October 15 to December 7: Medicare Open Enrollment period. This is your window to switch or drop your MA plan if it’s no longer meeting your needs.

• November to December: PSHB Open Season allows you to adjust your postal health plan if needed. Make sure changes align with any Medicare plan updates.

Planning ahead and reading notices carefully during these times can help you avoid surprises.

How to Stay Protected in 2025

You can’t control how Medicare Advantage plans evolve, but you can make informed decisions to protect your benefits:

• Get in the habit of reading all plan updates—including ANOCs, PSHB brochures, and Medicare mailings.

• Coordinate with Medicare Part B as required—or risk losing essential parts of PSHB coverage.

• Use benefits early and track them—don’t leave valuable services unused.

• Ask questions when things change—especially if a benefit disappears or a cost suddenly increases.

Being proactive makes a meaningful difference when you’re dealing with multiple layers of coverage.

When Less Becomes a Bigger Deal

Medicare Advantage in 2025 isn’t necessarily worse—it’s just leaner. Some plans are reallocating resources to focus on critical care. But if you’re someone who counted on those little extras to help stretch your healthcare dollar, then you’re more exposed this year.

As a PSHB enrollee or retiree, this year brings new responsibilities. You must review not just what’s included in your PSHB plan—but also what’s silently disappearing from your Medicare Advantage plan. Otherwise, you may unknowingly take on more costs or miss out on important services.

Get clarity now by reaching out to a licensed agent listed on this website. They can walk you through your current PSHB and Medicare options—and help you understand what benefits are still in your plan, and what’s gone.