The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
While Medicare Advantage enrollment is highly concentrated among a small number of firms, UnitedHealthcare has seen the largest and fastest growing share of enrollees over the past decade. Learn more in this Chart of the Week.
A record 3,148 Medicare Advantage plans will be available across the country as alternatives to traditional Medicare, a new KFF analysis finds.
With Medicare’s annual open enrollment period underway, a new KFF analysis finds that Medicare Advantage enrollees, on average, had access to just under half (48%) of the physicians in their area who were available to people enrolled in traditional Medicare. The finding illustrates a key tradeoff for beneficiaries in choosing Medicare Advantage.
Distribution of Enrollment in Medicare Advantage Plans, by Plan Type, 2013 Download Source MPR / KFF analysis of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage enrollment files, 2013.
Share of Medicare Beneficiaries Enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans, by State, 2013 Download Source MPR/Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of CMS State/County Market Penetration Files, 2013.
Medicare does not cover routine dental care and the majority of Medicare beneficiaries do not have dental coverage. Some beneficiaries have dental coverage through other sources, including Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and private plans, but almost half of all beneficiaries have not been to the dentist in the past year and many older adults face high out-of-pocket costs for needed dental care. The brief reviews the state of oral health for people on Medicare, describing the consequences of foregoing dental care, current sources of dental insurance, use of dental services, and beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket spending.
Almost two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries (65%), or nearly 37 million people, do not have dental coverage and many go without needed care, according to a new KFF brief on dental coverage and costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Rates are even higher among black and Hispanic beneficiaries, and those with low incomes.
The analysis finds that people who switched from traditional Medicare to Medicare Advantage in 2016 had health spending in 2015 that was $1,253 less, on average, than the average spending for beneficiaries who remained in traditional Medicare (after adjusting for health risk). The findings suggest that the current payment method may systematically overestimate expected costs of Medicare Advantage enrollees. Adjusting payments to reflect Medicare Advantage enrollees’ prior use of health services could potentially lower total Medicare spending by billions of dollars over a decade.
Medicare Advantage plans gain beneficiaries from traditional Medicare who have lower average spending and use fewer health services than similar beneficiaries who choose to remain in traditional Medicare, according to a new KFF analysis.
Twenty-nine percent of new beneficiaries chose to enroll in Medicare Advantage during their first year in Medicare in 2016, finds a new KFF analysis.
© 2026 KFF