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.
For the first time, 1 in every 3 people with Medicare is enrolled in Medicare Advantage, the private Medicare plans that have played an increasingly large role in the Medicare program over the past decade, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
This glossary serves as a guide to the sometimes arcane terms that inhabit the world of Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare.
Using Medicare Advantage encounter data, this analysis finds that 62% of Medicare Advantage enrollees have at least one chart review record and that diagnoses added from chart reviews increase payments from CMS to insurers for 17% of enrollees. The use of chart reviews varies across the largest Medicare Advantage insurers.
In 2020, more than 22 million Medicare beneficiaries (34%) are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, which are mainly HMOs and PPOs offered by private insurers as an alternative to the traditional Medicare program. This data note provides an overview of the Medicare Advantage plans that will be available in 2020, including the variation in the number of plans available by county and plan type. The brief also examines the insurers entering the Medicare Advantage market for the first time and also examines the insurers exiting the market.
Medicare does not cover routine dental care, and two-thirds of the Medicare population have no dental coverage at all. With limited or no dental coverage, some incur high out-of-pocket costs, while others forgo need dental care because they can’t afford it.
This Data Spotlight provides an overview of Medicare Advantage enrollment patterns in March 2014, and examines variations by plan type, state, and firm. It also analyzes trends in premiums paid by beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans and describes the changes in limits on out-of-pocket expenses and prescription drug coverage in the Part D “donut hole” provided by the plans in 2014.
This policy brief, prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation by Vicky Gottlich at the Center for Medicare Advocacy, explains the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ legal authority to regulate advertising and other information issued by the private companies that contract with the government to provide Medicare benefits.
This issue brief analyzes the number and variety of Medicare Advantage plan choices available to beneficiaries in 2015. It describes trends in number of Medicare Advantage plans, plan premiums, and plan quality ratings, including changes in prescription drug coverage and limits on out-of-pocket expenses. 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.
Medicare Advantage enrollees were in a plan that included just under half (48%) of all physicians available to traditional Medicare beneficiaries in their area in 2022, on average. The limitations of provider networks illustrate one of the key tradeoffs for beneficiaries in choosing Medicare Advantage for their coverage.
© 2026 KFF