A Snapshot of Sources of Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries
This analysis documents the different sources of coverage among people with Medicare and examines variation in beneficiary characteristics by source of coverage.
View the Latest: Traditional Medicare
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Potential Impacts of 2025 Budget Reconciliation on Health Coverage for Immigrant Families
Policy WatchThis policy watch discusses key provisions in the draft 2025 budget reconciliation legislation that are aimed at limiting health coverage for immigrant families.
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Key Facts About Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Areas
Issue BriefThis brief highlights key facts about Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas, including their demographic and health characteristics, access to care, and satisfaction with care.
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Most People in the Most Rural Counties Get Medicare Coverage from Traditional Medicare
Issue BriefWhile enrollment in Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, has grown steadily over the past decade, traditional Medicare remains the most common source of coverage for people who live in rural areas.
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Will the Trump Administration Fast Track the Privatization of Medicare?
Policy WatchThe privatization of Medicare has been taking place without much public debate – a trend that has implications for the 68 million people covered by Medicare, health care providers, Medicare spending, and taxpayers. It's not yet clear whether the administration will promote policies to accelerate the privatization of Medicare or focus more on achieving efficiencies and savings within Medicare Advantage, or pursue policies that aim to achieve both. How this plays out will have implications for beneficiaries, health care providers and insurers, and is worthy of serious debate.
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Medicare Spending was 27% More for People who Disenrolled from Medicare Advantage than for Similar People in Traditional Medicare
Issue BriefThis analysis looks at traditional Medicare spending among people who choose to disenroll from Medicare Advantage and obtain coverage under traditional Medicare during the annual Medicare open enrollment period. It compares their traditional Medicare spending (Parts A and B) in the year following disenrollment to similar people who were continuously covered by traditional Medicare, using data from the Medicare Beneficiary Summary File (MBSF) for 2021 and 2022.
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Coverage of Dental Services in Traditional Medicare
Issue BriefIn Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rules from recent years, the administration made changes to Medicare payment policies for certain dental services, in addition to other payment and policy changes. The 2023 rule clarified CMS’s interpretation of when medically necessary dental services can be covered and codified certain payment policies, and the 2023, 2024, and 2025 rules define new clinical scenarios for which Medicare payment can be made for dental services. This brief describes current law related to coverage and payment for dental services under Medicare and the rationale for changes to current policy, explains changes to dental payment and coverage included in these rules, and discusses the impact on Medicare and beneficiaries. While these changes are projected to benefit a small number of Medicare beneficiaries, they do not represent a broad expansion of Medicare coverage of dental services.
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Dental, Hearing, and Vision Costs and Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage
Issue BriefThis 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.