Medicare Advantage 2015 Data Spotlight: Overview of Plan Changes
Issue Brief
See Kaiser Family Foundation, “Explaining Health Reform: Key Changes in the Medicare Advantage Program, April 29, 2010. http://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/explaining-health-reform-key-changes-in-the/; and Kaiser Family Foundation “Medicare Advantage Fact Sheet” May 2014. https://www.kff.org/medicare/fact-sheet/medicare-advantage-fact-sheet/
For more details, see Jacobson G, Damico A, and Neuman, T, “What’s In and What’s Out? Medicare Advantage Market Entries and Exits for 2015” October 2014. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/whats-in-and-whats-out-medicare-advantage-market-entries-and-exits-for-2015/
Plan specific information about cost-sharing requirements and benefits is at www.medicare.gov on the “Find Health and Drug Plan” database. However, this database does not include summary statistics on the characteristics of plans available nationwide or in particular areas. Further research is needed to assess changes in benefits and cost sharing among Medicare Advantage plans over time.
Data for individual plans offered are contained in the MA and SNP Landscape Source files for 2015 and previous years. http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Prescription-Drug-Coverage/PrescriptionDrugCovGenIn/index.html
A non-consolidating plan is one that is no longer available anywhere in the country and whose beneficiaries must find another Medicare Advantage plan, or switch to traditional Medicare. A consolidating plan is one that has merged with one or more other consolidating plans to form a plan newly-available in 2015, and whose 2014 MA enrollees will be automatically rolled over into that new post-consolidation plan. If two plans consolidate into one, then this analysis counts that as one departing plan.
For more details, see Jacobson G, Damico A, and Neuman, T, “What’s In and What’s Out? Medicare Advantage Market Entries and Exits for 2015” October 2014. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/whats-in-and-whats-out-medicare-advantage-market-entries-and-exits-for-2015/
For more on the factors affecting seniors’ plan enrollment decisions, see Jacobson G, Swoope C, Perry M, Slosar M, “How are Seniors Choosing and Changing Health Insurance Plans?” May 2014. https://www.kff.org/medicare/report/how-are-seniors-choosing-and-changing-health-insurance-plans/
For example, see Gold M, Jacobson G, Damico A, and Neuman T, “Medicare Advantage 2014 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update.” May 2014. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-2014-spotlight-enrollment-market-update/
See M. Gold “Making Sense of the Change in How Medicare Advantage Plans are Paid” Issue Brief. New York: The Commonwealth Fund, May 2013. http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/our-publications-and-findings/publications/making-sense-of-the-change-in-how-medicare-advantage-plans-are-paid, and M. Gold and M. Hudson “Analysis of the Variation in Efficiency of Medicare Advantage Plans Relative to Medicare FFS.” Paper developed for the Commonwealth Fund, Washington DC: Mathematica Policy Research Research Brief, May 2013. http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/our-publications-and-findings/publications/analysis-of-the-variation-in-efficiency-of-medicare-advantage-plans
See Gold M, Jacobson G, Damico A, and Neuman T, “Medicare Advantage 2011 Data Spotlight: Medicare Advantage Enrollment Market Update.” September 2011. https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-2011-data-spotlight-medicare-advantage/
See Gold M, Jacobson G, Damico A, and Neuman T, “Medicare Advantage 2014 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update.” May 2014. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-2014-spotlight-enrollment-market-update/
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. 2014 Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans Offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield Affiliated Companies, Updated January 2014. http://www.bcbs.com/already-a-member/the-blues-and-medicare/2013-Medicare-Advantage-and-Prescription-Drug-Plans.pdf
See Aetna, “2013 Investor Conference,” December 12, 2013. http://www.aetna.com/investors-aetna/assets/documents/2013%20Investor%20Conference/2013-Investor-Conference-Presentation.pdf
See UnitedHealth Group press release, “UnitedHealthcare Introduces 2015 Medicare Plans.” October 1, 2014. http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/Newsroom/Articles/Feed/UnitedHealthcare/2014/1001MedicarePlans2015.aspx
For more details, see Gold M, Hudson M, Jacobson G, Damico A, and Neuman T, “Medicare Advantage 2010 Data Spotlight: Benefits and Cost-sharing,” February 2010. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-2010-data-spotlight-benefits-and/
For examples, see Kaiser Family Foundation, “Medicare and the Federal Budget: Comparison of Medicare Provisions in Recent Federal Debt and Deficit Reduction Proposals,” January 2014. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-and-the-federal-budget-comparison-of-medicare-provisions-in-recent-federal-debt-and-deficit-reduction-proposals/
For standard Medigap plans, see http://www.medicare.gov/supplement-other-insurance/compare-medigap/compare-medigap.html Most enrollees are in Standard plans F and C which cover most out of pocket costs for Part A and Part B. Medicare benefits. See, J. T. Huang, G.A. Jacobson, T. Neuman, K.A. Desmond, and T. Price “Medigap: Spotlight on Enrollment, Premiums, and Recent Trends, April 2013. https://www.kff.org/medicare/report/medigap-enrollment-premiums-and-recent-trends/
J. Hoadley, L. Summer, E. Hargrave, J. Cubanski, and T. Neuman. “Medicare Part D in its Ninth Year: The 2014 Marketplace and Key Trends, 2006-2014, Kaiser Family Foundation, August 2014. https://www.kff.org/medicare/report/medicare-part-d-in-its-ninth-year-the-2014-marketplace-and-key-trends-2006-2014/