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.
In this JAMA Forum column, KFF’s Larry Levitt examines the growing role of private insurance companies in public programs, including Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care, and the tradeoffs that result.
In the latest post in the Policy Insights series, Tricia Neuman 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. Previous columns in the Policy Insights series are also available on kff.org.
Medicare: The Essentials (July 2013) Download Medicare Enrollment, 1966-2013 Download Source Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Enrollment: Hospital Insurance and/or Supplemental Medical Insurance Programs for Total, Fee-for-Service and Managed Care Enrollees as of July 1, 2011: Selected Calendar Years 1966-2011; 2012-2013, HHS Budget in Brief, FY2014.
A new KFF analysis finds that a relatively small share of people with Medicare Advantage or stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage voluntarily switch plans during Medicare’s open enrollment period, which runs annually from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.
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.
In a few short weeks, Medicare will undergo big changes that will have a major impact on more than 3 million Hispanic seniors and younger people with permanent disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health coverage.
Most Medicare Advantage enrollees are in plans that have waived cost sharing for COVID-19 treatment, and many other beneficiaries in traditional Medicare have their cost sharing covered by supplemental insurance. This blog post discusses the 6 million Medicare beneficiaries without supplemental coverage who would face out-of-pocket costs if they require treatment for COVID-19.
Number of Coronavirus Cases, Distribution of $30B in CARES Act funding and Medicare Advantage Penetration by StateStateNumber ofCOVID-19 Cases on April 21, 2020Percent of Total COVID-19 CasesFirst Distribution of CARES Act PaymentsPercent of Total Money DistributedPercent of Medicare Beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage, 2020New York253,400.0032.1%$1,859,574,4346.2%40%New Jersey88,806.0011.3%$919,426,8013.1%29%Massachusetts39,643.005.0%$841,425,1202.8%23%Pennsylvania34,005.004.3%$1,246,250,0764.2%41%California33,866.004.3%$2,920,960,7339.7%40%Michigan32,000.004.1%$936,700,1393.1%42%Illinois31,508.004.0%$1,204,103,1804.0%25%Florida27,058.003.4%$2,220,563,1377.4%43%Louisiana24,523.003.1%$474,891,7351.6%38%Connecticut19,815.002.5%$377,981,2571.3%41%Texas20,087.002.5%$2,089,066,4527.0%37%Georgia19,398.002.5%$792,069,1602.6%37%Maryland14,193.001.8%$742,225,3062.5%11%Ohio12,919.001.6%$989,773,4173.3%39%Washington12,486.001.6%$553,838,8061.8%33%Indiana11,688.001.5%$668,604,6142.2%32%Colorado10,112.001.3%$360,905,4821.2%38%Virginia9,097.001.2%$814,360,4672.7%21%Tennessee7,238.000.9%$739,723,3472.5%38%North Carolina6,979.000.9%$919,171,0873.1%36%Missouri5,963.000.8%$618,601,1672.1%35%Rhode Island5,090.000.6%$90,459,8340.3%39%Arizona5,068.000.6%$707,587,4822.4%39%Alabama5,092.000.6%$449,481,9451.5%41%Mississippi4,512.000.6%$374,847,7901.2%20%Wisconsin4,541.000.6%$471,681,0771.6%42%South Carolina4,439.000.6%$518,022,4631.7%28%Nevada3,830.000.5%$241,471,8410.8%36%Utah3,213.000.4%$185,292,4220.6%36%Iowa3,159.000.4%$297,929,1711.0%22%Kentucky3,050.000.4%$452,761,1711.5%34%District of Columbia3,098.000.4%$84,989,0990.3%20%Delaware2,745.000.3%$154,114,1180.5%17%Oklahoma2,680.000.3%$489,853,9981.6%22%Minnesota2,470.000.3%$472,206,1221.6%43%Kansas2,070.000.3%$325,135,9501.1%19%Oregon1,956.000.2%$291,029,0251.0%42%Arkansas1,990.000.3%$326,536,0431.1%26%New Mexico1,971.000.2%$169,486,1320.6%35%South Dakota1,685.000.2%$107,650,2010.4%19%Idaho1,736.000.2%$135,028,0560.5%33%Nebraska1,648.000.2%$225,027,9120.8%17%New Hampshire1,447.000.2%$164,580,3860.5%19%Puerto Rico1,298.000.2%$41,889,8220.1%70%West Virginia908.000.1%$246,574,8510.8%31%Maine875.000.1%$145,763,8120.5%36%Vermont816.000.1%$54,457,8700.
This Data Spotlight reviews national and state-level enrollment trends as of March 2015 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.
A new analysis of health insurers’ 2021 financial data shows that insurers continue to report much higher gross margins per enrollee in the Medicare Advantage market than in other health insurance markets. The analysis examines insurers’ financial data in the Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care, individual (non-group), and fully insured group (employer) markets.
© 2026 KFF