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  • What Do People with Medicare Think About the Role of Marketing, Shopping for Medicare Options, and Their Coverage?

    Report

    To capture Medicare beneficiaries’ views and experiences in choosing between traditional Medicare and private plans, and among private plans, and the factors that influence these decisions, KFF worked with PerryUndem to conduct focus groups with Medicare beneficiaries in the Fall of 2022, during the annual Medicare open enrollment period. This report summarizes first-hand accounts of participants’ reactions open enrollment advertising and factors that influence their decision-making around Medicare plan choice.

  • Are Medicare Advantage Insurers Covering the Cost of At-Home COVID-19 Tests?

    Policy Watch

    The Biden Administration's requirement for private insurers to cover the cost of at-home rapid COVID-19 tests for their enrollees does not apply to Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans (offered by private insurers) have the option to cover at-home tests but are not required to do so. This policy watch examines whether some of the largest private Medicare Advantage plans are covering the cost of at-home rapid tests for COVID-19.

  • Dental, Hearing, and Vision Costs and Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage

    Issue Brief

    This analysis builds on our prior work – Medicare and Dental Coverage: A Closer Look – by analyzing hearing and vision use, out-of-pocket spending and cost-related barriers to care among Medicare beneficiaries as well as hearing and vision benefits in Medicare Advantage plans. It also incorporates top-level findings from the analysis of dental services to provide a comprehensive profile of dental, hearing, and vision benefits in Medicare.

  • Key Facts About Medicare Part D Enrollment and Costs in 2022

    Issue Brief

    This analysis provides the latest data about Medicare Part D enrollment, premiums, and cost sharing in 2022 and trends over time, including information about stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans.

  • Medicare: An Overview

    Feature

    This slideshow explains key elements of the Medicare program, which now provides health coverage to 55 million people — including 46 million people age 65 and older and another 9 million younger adults with permanent disabilities.

  • The Future of Medicare Advantage: Are We on the Right Path?

    Event Date:
    Event

    This June 10 briefing looked at Medicare Advantage and changes affecting it, including revised calculations of payments from CMS, and the Affordable Care Act's reduced payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Speakers discussed how Medicare Advantage plans are expected to respond to payment changes; if quality bonus payments created significant changes in patient care or plan choices; and what implications could these decisions have on beneficiaries with regard to premiums, benefits and more.

  • Medicare Advantage 2024 Spotlight: First Look

    Issue Brief

    For 2024, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to 43 Medicare Advantage plans and can choose from plans offered by 8 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.

  • Medicare Consumer-Directed Health Plan: Medicare MSAs and HSA-like Plans in 2007

    Issue Brief

    Medicare Consumer-Directed Health Plan: Medicare MSAs and HSA-like Plans in 2007 This March 2007 issue brief, commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation, examines the development of consumer-directed health plans in the Medicare program. Medicare Medical Savings Account plans have high deductibles accompanied by a personal savings account that can be used to pay for medical expenses. The paper examines how such plans operate in Medicare, how they differ from other types of Medicare Advantage plans…

  • The Obama Administration’s 2010 Call Letter for Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans: Implications for Beneficiaries

    Issue Brief

    On March 30, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the 2010 “call letter,” which functions as a request for proposals to private health insurers and organizations that want to sponsor Medicare Advantage Plans or Medicare Prescription Drug Plans. This issue brief reviews the call letter — the first issued by the Obama Administration — and examines the implications for beneficiaries of some of the proposed changes, including its emphasis on accountability of health plan sponsors, promoting…

  • Explaining Health Reform: Key Changes in the Medicare Advantage Program

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines the changes in the 2010 health reform law affecting the Medicare Advantage program, which gives beneficiaries the option of enrolling in private insurance plans for their Medicare benefits, instead of the traditional fee-for-service program. The reform law will gradually reduce Medicare payments to these plans to bring the average payment closer to the costs of traditional fee-for-service Medicare, while rewarding plans with high-quality ratings. The brief also describes new benefit requirements for…