Based on interviews with senior executives at 14 large firms, the issue brief finds that insurers anticipate continuing to offer Medicare Advantage plans in 2012, in part because of a Medicare demonstration project that will award bonus payments to plans based on their quality standards.

This data spotlight examines enrollment trends in Medicare Advantage plans in 2011 and finds that, despite concerns about the effects of the 2010 health reform payment reductions on private Medicare Advantage plans, enrollment continued to rise this year. Additionally, Medicare Advantage enrollees are paying lower premiums, on average, than they did in 2010.