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This report describes the history of special needs plans, how they fit into the larger Medicare Advantage marketplace, and what information could help assess whether these plans are performing differently from other Medicare Advantage plans.
This report projects the impact of the new Medicare drug benefit on out-of-pocket spending for people who enroll in 2006. This analysis from November 2004 estimates that 6.9 million beneficiaries are projected to be affected by the coverage gap (the so-called "doughnut hole") in the standard Part D drug benefit.
As federal and state governments advance efforts to better coordinate care and reduce costs for people dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits, this brief examines how insurers now serving these markets view the opportunities and challenges, including a look at Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans.
This Data Spotlight provides an overview of Medicare Advantage enrollment patterns in March 2013, and examines variations by plan type, state, and firm. It also analyzes trends in premiums paid by beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, including variations by plan type, and describes the out-of-pocket limits and prescription drug coverage in the Part D “donut hole” provided by the plans in 2013.
In this brief, we look beneath national trends to examine Medicare Advantage penetration rates and growth rates in counties across the country to assess the extent to which Medicare Advantage plans are poised to cover more beneficiaries than traditional Medicare across the country.
In an article in Health Affairs, researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation counter the popular misperception that the steady rise in Medicare Advantage enrollment has been driven by members of the Baby Boom generation overwhelmingly choosing the private plans as they become eligible for Medicare. Their study examines the 2006-2011 growth in Medicare Advantage enrollment and finds that a majority of new enrollees in Medicare Advantage in each year were, in fact, seniors switching from traditional Medicare.
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.
Sources of Supplemental Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries, 2009 Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, 2009 Cost and Use file.
Total Medicare Private Health Plan Enrollment, 1999-2013 Download Source MPR/Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of CMS Medicare Advantage enrollment files, 2008-2013, and MPR, “Tracking Medicare Health and Prescription Drug Plans Monthly Report,” 2001-2007; enrollment numbers from March of the respective year, with the exception of 2006, which is from April.
This Policy Insight draws on the experiences of Medicare beneficiaries during Medicare’s annual enrollment period to consider whether consumers with health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s new marketplaces will shop for a better deal during their open enrollment season.
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