Enrollment

With Medicare’s 2015 open enrollment set to begin Oct. 15, two new analyses from the Kaiser Family Foundation find modest change in the total number of private Medicare Advantage plans available for 2015, and the fewest Part D prescription drug plans nationwide since the start of the drug benefit in 2006. As in previous years, changes in Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability, premiums, cost-sharing and benefits could require some beneficiaries to find alternative coverage and lead others to pay more if they continue with their existing coverage.

In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman pinpoints the Affordable Care Act’s five biggest challenges heading into the second open enrollment period.

This Data Note examines the availability of plans nationwide and by state in 2015, and changes in plan availability since 2011. It documents the number and share of Medicare Advantage enrollees affected by plan withdrawals each year, the characteristics of plans that will be entering the market and characteristics of those exiting the market in 2015.

State Medicaid programs are in a time of transformation as the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the focus on delivery system reforms and the improving economy drive changes in Medicaid’s coverage and provision of health and long term services and supports, with varied impacts on Medicaid spending and enrollment…

This report provides an in depth examination of the changes taking place in state Medicaid programs across the country. The findings in this report are drawn from the 14th annual budget survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia conducted by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and Health Management Associates (HMA), with the support of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. This report highlights policy changes implemented in state Medicaid programs in FY 2014 and those planned for implementation in FY 2015 based on information provided by the nation’s state Medicaid Directors. Key areas covered include changes in eligibility and enrollment, delivery systems, provider payments and taxes, benefits, pharmacy programs, program integrity and program administration.

This report provides an overview of Medicaid financing and Medicaid spending and enrollment growth with a focus on state fiscal years 2014 and 2015 (FY 2014 and FY 2015.) Findings are based on interviews and data provided by state Medicaid directors as part of the 14th annual survey of Medicaid directors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia conducted by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) survey with Health Management Associates (HMA). Findings examine changes in overall enrollment and spending growth and also look at expansion versus non-expansion states.

At 9:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) released its 14th annual 50-state Medicaid budget survey for state fiscal years 2014 and 2015. Kaiser and the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) held a joint briefing to discuss key findings and highlight trends and changes in Medicaid programs around the country.

This brief reviews the rules around the enhanced federal medical assistance percentages (FMAP) provided in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the process for states to claim the enhanced matching funds and a discussion about what information the new data will provide looking forward.

This Policy Insight explores possible explanations for the continued rise in Medicare Advantage enrollment between 2010 and 2013 in spite of a projected decrease following payment changes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

This brief highlights estimates from the Urban Institute’s ACS-HIPSM on the magnitude and composition of Medicaid enrollees and the uninsured after full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the Medicaid expansion. Both state and local level estimates highlight the geographic variation.