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Medicare

Open Enrollment

Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage 2020: First Look
A record 3,148 Medicare Advantage plans will be available across the country as alternatives to traditional Medicare in 2020 — up 15% from last year. A typical beneficiary has 28 plans to choose from in their local market.
Part D
Medicare Part D: A First Look at Prescription Drug Plans in 2020
Millions of current enrollees in stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans will face premium and other cost increases next year unless they switch to lower-cost plans during the open enrollment period
FAQs
Our searchable Frequently Asked Questions about the Medicare Open Enrollment period cover a range of topics related to Medicare enrollment, including Medicare Advantage, Part D, Medigap, and more.

New & Noteworthy

Dental Coverage
Policy Options for Improving Dental Coverage for People on Medicare
Since its inception, Medicare has explicitly excluded coverage of dental services, with limited exceptions. Nearly two-thirds of the Medicare population – 37 million beneficiaries – have no dental coverage at all.
Out-of-Pocket SPendnig
How Much Do Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Out-of-Pocket on Health Care?
The average person with traditional Medicare coverage paid $5,460 out of their own pocket for health care in 2016. But some groups of beneficiaries spent substantially more than others.
PArt D
How Will Medicare Part D Change Under Current Law and Leading Proposals?
Part D enrollees with relatively high out-of-pocket expenses can expect see their costs rise in 2020. This is mainly due to an increase in how much enrollees will pay out of pocket for their prescription drugs in the coverage gap phase before they qualify for catastrophic coverage.

prescription drugs

slideshow
10 Charts on Proposals to Lower Medicare Prescription Drug Prices
This quick primer explains the similarities and differences among major Medicare prescription drug proposals introduced by House Democrats, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Trump Administration.
politics
What’s the Latest on Medicare Drug Price Negotiations?
Some policymakers have proposed allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. This issue brief provides a short history of this proposal, as well as assessments of potential savings from CBO.
Medicare part d
Assessing Drug Price Increases in Medicare Part D
List prices increased up to nine times faster than inflation for 20 of the top 25 Part D drugs.
video
How Do Prescription Drug Rebates Work?
The video breaks down how prescription drug rebates are determined, who benefits from them, how they affect spending by insurers and consumers and the role of pharmacy benefit managers in the process.

Medicare advantage statistics

Latest Polling

59%

of Medicare Advantage enrollees are in plans operated by UnitedHealthcare, Humana, or BlueCross BlueShield affiliates in 2019. (2019 Issue Brief)

29%

of new Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans during their first year on Medicare in 2016. (2019 Issue Brief)

34%

of all Medicare beneficiaries (22 million people) are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. (2019 Issue Brief)

62%

of the 22 million Medicare Advantage enrollees in 2019 are in in HMOs, with the rest in local or regional PPOs. (2019 Fact Sheet)

The Essentials

Basics
An Overview of Medicare Coverage
Medicare plays a key role in providing health care and financial security to more than 60 million older people and younger people with disabilities.
federal budget
The Facts on Medicare Spending
Medicare spending was 15 percent of total federal spending in 2018. Benefit payments totaled $731 billion that year.
income and assets
Finances of Medicare Beneficiaries, 2016-2035
Half of all Medicare beneficiaries had incomes below $26,200 per person in 2016 and savings below $74,450.
medicare part d
10 Things to Know About Part D
Part D is a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare, provide through private plans approved by the federal government.
quiz
How Much Do You Know About Medicare?
Take this quiz to find out how much you know about Medicare, the people it serves, the benefits it covers, and its financial status.