Enrollment in private health plans has grown sharply since the enactment of the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003, which created a Medicare drug benefit to be provided by private plans and created incentives for new private plans to enter the Medicare market.

Today, virtually all Medicare beneficiaries--including those living in rural areas--have access to one or more private plans (known as Medicare Advantage plans), such as a Medicare HMO, PPO, special-needs plan or a private fee-for-service plan. A record 8.3 million beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, up from 5.3 million in 2003.

To explore specific aspects of the Medicare private plan marketplace, the Kaiser Family Foundation commissioned four papers:

 Private Plans in Medicare: A 2007 Update

 An Examination of Medicare Private Fee-for-Service Plans

 Medicare Consumer-Directed Health Plan: Medicare MSAs and HSA-like Plans in 2007

 Medicare Payments and Beneficiary Costs for Prescription Drug Coverage

In addition, Kaiser held a March 16 policy workshop at its Washington, D.C., offices to discuss the growth in private fee-for-service Medicare plans. 

An archived webcast and transcript of the workshop is available online.