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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  • Poll Finds Bipartisan Public Support For Creating State Insurance Exchanges Despite Continuing Party Divisions Over the ACA

    News Release

    More Americans Back Than Oppose State Medicaid Expansions But, Like Many Governors, Public Splits Along Party Lines On The Federal Deficit, Public Wants Action But Still Resists Most Cuts and Sacrifices, Especially to Medicare A majority of Americans put the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges at the top of the priority list for health policy in their state this year, according to a survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Robert Wood…

  • The Public’s Health Care Agenda for the 113th Congress

    Poll Finding

    As the 113th Congress is sworn in, and President Barack Obama begins his second term of office, a comprehensive new Kaiser Family Foundation/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health survey queried the public about their priorities for, and views on, a wide range of health and health policy issues. These include issues that will preoccupy federal lawmakers, such as the role of Medicare in the deficit reduction debate, as well as issues currently being…

  • Massachusetts and Ohio: Capitated Financial Alignment Demonstrations for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries Compared

    Fact Sheet

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Massachusetts and Ohio to test a capitated financial alignment model to integrate care and align financing for people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid in 2013. CMS also has signed an MOU with Washington to test a managed fee-for-service model. These three year demonstrations will introduce changes in the care delivery systems through which beneficiaries presently receive services…

  • Medicare 101: What You Need to Know

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation present a briefing to discuss the basics of Medicare, its role in the health care system, and how the program has evolved over time. Speakers address questions on how the program is administered, how much it costs and how it is financed. A short video produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation, "The History of Medicare: A Timeline," will be shown at the event. For more…

  • Public Opinion Polling on Raising the Age of Medicare Eligibility: Historic Trends and Current Nuances

    Poll Finding

    Given the recent debate over raising the age of Medicare eligibility, it is useful to understand public opinion on the issue. This Data Note analyzes KFF's historic trends and gives a current snapshot of public opinion on the proposal, with a special focus on how views differ by age, and the partisan divide that pervades public opinion on healthcare. The analysis then investigates how different arguments sway views on raising the age of Medicare eligibility…

  • Making Ends Meet: The Medicare Generation

    Video

    This short Kaiser Family Foundation documentary profiles the experiences of three Medicare families trying to pay for their health care costs with other household spending. The families are among 16 featured in a companion report examining the role Medicare now plays in the lives of beneficiaries and the challenges many face in paying for their health care and other living expenses on a fixed budget.

  • Serious Illness in Late Life: The Public’s Views and Experiences

    Report

    In context of the rapidly growing number of older adults in the U.S. and increasing challenges that this population faces, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a large scale, nationally representative telephone survey to better understand people’s expectations about later life and efforts they’ve taken to plan for if they become seriously ill. To learn more about the experiences of those with serious illness specifically, this survey also included interviews with adults who are either personally…

  • One Big Thing People Don’t Know About Single Payer

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman discusses a challenge for single payer which has not received much attention – a large share of the American people do not think they would have to change their current health insurance arrangements if there were a Medicare-for-all style single payer plan.