Medicare

Medicare Open Enrollment

Medicare Advantage Plan Availability Varies Widely by County for 2027

Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan (MA-PD) availability varies widely by county in 2027, with a modest reduction in the share of enrollees with more than 40 plans to choose from and some major insurers exiting many more counties than they are entering. 1 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries (20%) can choose from among more than 40 MA-PDs for 2027, down from 27% in 2026. 1% of all beneficiaries will have no plan option for 2027.

Medicare Open Enrollment and Coverage Options: Key Questions and Answers

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, which runs from October 15 through December 7. This brief answers key questions about the Medicare open enrollment period and Medicare coverage options.

Medigap

Medigap Guaranteed Issue Requirements: An Overview of Federal and State Rules

This issue brief analyzes federal and state rules related to guaranteed issue requirements for Medigap policies and how they impact beneficiaries’ access to Medigap, including the implications for Medicare beneficiaries with pre-existing medical conditions and those under age 65 with long-term disabilities.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

Decoding Medicare Advantage Coding Intensity

Federal payments to Medicare Advantage plans, and adjustments for health status, have come under increased scrutiny. This brief answers key questions about coding intensity, recent steps taken by CMS, the effects on beneficiaries, and other proposals to improve payment accuracy.

Data Visualization

The Facts About Medicare Spending

This interactive provides the facts on Medicare spending. Medicare, which serves 67 million people and accounts for 12 percent of the federal budget and 21 percent of national health spending, is often the focus of discussions about health expenditures, health care affordability and the sustainability of federal health programs. Explore data on enrollment growth, Medicare spending trends overall and per person, growth in Medicare spending relative to private insurance, spending on benefits and Medicare Advantage, Part A trust fund solvency challenges, and growth in out-of-pocket spending by beneficiaries.

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  • Summary of Medicare Provisions in the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2015

    Issue Brief

    On March 4, 2014, the Office of Management and Budget released President Obama’s budget for fiscal year (FY) 2015, which includes provisions related to federal spending and revenues, including Medicare savings. The President’s budget would use federal savings and revenues to reduce the federal debt and replace sequestration of Medicare and other federal programs for 2015 through 2024. This brief summarizes the Medicare provisions included in the President’s budget proposal for FY 2015.

  • Medicare-for-All vs. Single Payer: The Impact of Labels

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, “Medicare-for-All vs. Single Payer: The Impact of Labels”, Drew Altman uses new polling on a Medicare-for-all or single payer health system to explain how what you call a health reform plan can substantially affect the public’s response. All previous Drew Altman columns are online.

  • Although a Small Share of Medicare Part D Enrollees Take Specialty Drugs, A New Analysis Finds Those Who Do Can Face Thousands of Dollars in Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs Despite Plan Limits on Catastrophic Expenses

    News Release

    Some Medicare Part D enrollees can expect to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for a single specialty drug in 2016, even though Part D plans provide substantial protection against catastrophic costs, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The findings illustrate how high prescription drug prices, one of the public's top health care concerns, pose a financial challenge not only for Medicare and other federal health programs but for people on Medicare…

  • Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Medicare for All

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores the differing positions of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on a single payer or Medicare-for-all health care system and whether Democratic voters consider it an important factor in the 2016 primaries.

  • Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Medicare for All

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores the differing positions of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on a single payer or Medicare-for-all health care system and whether Democratic voters consider it an important factor in the 2016 primaries. All previous columns by Drew Altman are online.

  • New Article and Infographics in JAMA Examine Medicaid and Medicare at 50 Years

    News Release

    The July 28 special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) includes an article written by Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, MD, and two infographics from the Foundation that examine the past, present, and future of Medicaid and Medicare. Medicare and Medicaid at 50 Years: Perspectives of Beneficiaries, Health Care Professionals and Institutions, and Policy Makers examines the roles the two programs…

  • Medicare and Medicaid at 50 Years: Perspectives of Beneficiaries, Health Care Professionals and Institutions, and Policy Makers

    From Drew Altman

    In this article for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Drew Altman and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader William Frist examine the roles the Medicaid and Medicare play in the health system today from the perspectives of the public and beneficiaries, providers, and policymakers, and discusses the challenges they face in the future. The article is accompanied by an audio interview with Altman and Frist, who is a member of the Foundation’s board…

  • Survey Finds Many Primary Care Physicians Have Negative Views of the Use of Quality Metrics and Penalties for Unnecessary Hospital Readmissions 

    News Release

    Primary Care Providers View Health IT as Improving Quality, But Tilt Negatively on ACOs Half of the nation's primary care physicians view the increased use of quality-of-care metrics and financial penalties for unnecessary hospitalizations as potentially troubling for patient care, according to a new survey from The Commonwealth Fund and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Fifty percent of primary care physicians say the increased use of quality metrics to assess provider performance is having a negative…