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In this November 2018 New England Journal of Medicine article, KFF's Tricia Neuman and Gretchen Jacobson examine the extent to which Medicare Advantage plans are achieving goals with respect to benefits, out-of-pocket costs, plan choice, federal spending and quality.
Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act is a top priority of the Trump Administration and the Republican leadership, which could have implications for the Medicare program. This brief provides a side-by-side comparison of the Medicare-related provisions in six bills and proposals that would repeal the ACA, excluding proposals that would not directly affect Medicare.
Medicare Advantage plans, which consist primarily of HMOs and PPOs, now cover almost 18 million people – nearly one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries.
This issue brief analyzes the number and variety of Medicare Advantage plan choices available to beneficiaries in 2017. It describes trends in number of Medicare Advantage plans and plan quality ratings, and new information on plan premiums, out-of-pocket expense limits, and other plan features. This spotlight is part of a series of spotlights tracking key changes in the Medicare Advantage program.
The Medicare open enrollment period allows enrollees to compare plans, stick with their current plan, switch to another plan, or shift to traditional Medicare. This analysis examines the extent to which Medicare Advantage enrollees change plans when given the opportunity. It also analyzes the variation in the rate of plan switching by enrollee and plan characteristics and whether people who voluntarily switch plans tend to move to plans with lower premiums, lower out-of-pocket limits, or higher quality ratings.
This Data Spotlight reviews national and state-level enrollment trends as of March 2017 and examines variation in enrollment by plan type and firm. It analyzes the most recent data on premiums, out-of-pocket limits, Part D cost-sharing for drugs, and plans’ quality ratings for Medicare Advantage enrollees.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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