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This brief provides an overview of the Medicare Advantage plans that are available for 2026 and key trends over time. In 2026, the average Medicare beneficiary has a choice of 32 Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans, two fewer than the 34 in 2025. Virtually all Medicare Advantage plans for 2026 provide multiple extra benefits like vision, hearing, and dental benefits, similar to last year.
Using data from the 23rd KFF survey of officials administering Medicaid home care programs, this issue brief describes the mechanisms states are currently using to limit Medicaid spending on home care and their plans for adopting new mechanisms in state fiscal year (FY) 2026.
This data note provides new information about waiting lists in Medicaid home care before many of the provisions in the 2025 reconciliation law go into effect. The data come from KFF's 23rd survey of officials administering Medicaid home care programs in all 50 states and DC.
In a new column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman discusses new KFF survey data that shows that a surprising share of older adults with Medicare are using health tech regularly, and a solid majority support many of CMS’ goals to make it more widely available. But there are also big income gaps in the use of health tech, and concerns about AI, privacy, and other barriers to rapid and more widespread adoption. “Apparently… a…
This brief analyzes changes in the new tax and budget reconciliation law that modify which drugs will be selected for Medicare drug price negotiation, which will lead to higher Medicare spending and higher costs for beneficiaries who take these medications.
Each year, Medicare beneficiaries have an opportunity to make changes to how they receive their Medicare coverage during the nearly 8-week annual open enrollment period. This brief answers key questions about the Medicare open enrollment period and Medicare coverage options.
This brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, including current data on plan availability, enrollment, and spending and financing, and highlights changes made under the Inflation Reduction Act.
This brief looks at premium changes for Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans between 2025 and 2026. For plans that were offered nationwide in 2025 and will continue to be offered in 2026, Part D enrollees in many states will see lower monthly premiums in 2026.
The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers free counseling to help millions of Medicare beneficiaries make decisions about coverage. However, federal funding has been modest over the last decade, and federal administration of the program appears to be in transition.
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