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This issue brief merged beneficiary-level Medicare and Medicaid data from 2021 to document sources of coverage for dual-eligible individuals nationwide and by state.
Higher market concentration in Medicare Advantage insurance markets may lower the incentive for insurers to compete for potential enrollees by making plans more appealing through more comprehensive benefits or lower costs.
The Medicare Part D program provides an outpatient prescription drug benefit to more than 50 million older adults and people with long-term disabilities in Medicare who enroll in private plans, including stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) to supplement traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PDs) that include drug coverage and other Medicare-covered benefits. This brief analyzes Medicare Part D enrollment and costs in 2025 and trends over time, based on data from the…
For 2023, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to 43 Medicare Advantage plans and can choose from plans offered by nine firms. Among the majority of Medicare Advantage plans that cover prescription drugs, 66 percent will charge no premium in addition to the monthly Medicare Part B premium. As in previous years, the vast majority of Medicare Advantage plans will offer supplemental benefits, including fitness, dental, vision, and hearing benefits. In addition, virtually all will…
A review of the 2025 Medicare Advantage plans available for individual enrollment shows that the total number of plans declined by 7% (from 3,959 to 3,699). The average Medicare beneficiary will have the option of 34 Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans in 2025, just 2 fewer than the 36 options available in 2024. Since 2018, the number of plans available to the average beneficiary has doubled.
The new provider search tool on the Medicare Plan Finder could make it easier for beneficiaries to figure out if their doctors are in a Medicare Advantage plan's network despite some data issues.
Certain insurers must now publicly report specific prior authorization metrics, but the new data offer limited insight, providing no information on what types of services are being approved and denied or why as well as no data on prescription drugs.
The Trump administration this week backed off a key element of its Medicare Advantage rate proposal, resulting in billions of dollars in additional payments to private insurers.
This brief analyzes out-of-pocket limits in Medicare Advantage plans in 2026, variation by plan type, the distribution of enrollees facing different out-of-pocket limits, and trends over time.
This Health Policy 101 chapter explores Medicare, a federal health insurance program covering more than 68 million people, established in 1965 for people age 65 or older and later expanded to cover people under age 65 with long-term disabilities. In addition to detailing Medicare eligibility, coverage, and spending, the chapter examines the increased role of private plans in providing benefits and the financing challenges posed by increasing health care costs and an aging population.
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