Building On What Works: Medicare Advantage Enrollment Has More Than Doubled Over Past Decade

WASHINGTON – Providing further evidence that our current health care system is working to expand access to affordable, high-quality health coverage and care, a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) finds that enrollment in Medicare Advantage “has more than doubled over the past decade” and seniors have access to more coverage options today than at any time in the past ten years.

A Growing Number Of Seniors Are Choosing Medicare Advantage:

• “Over the last decade, the role of Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, has grown. In 2021, more than 26 million people are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, accounting for 42 percent of the total Medicare population,” the analysis finds.

Medicare Advantage Plans Provide Affordable Coverage & Access To Care:

• “Nine in ten Medicare Advantage enrollees are in plans that include prescription drug coverage and nearly two-thirds of these enrollees (65 percent) pay no premium other than the monthly Medicare Part B premium ($148.50 in 2021).”

• “Virtually all Medicare Advantage enrollees (99 percent) would pay less than the traditional Medicare Part A hospital deductible of $1,484 for an inpatient stay of three or fewer days.”

• “Most enrollees in individual Medicare Advantage plans have access to some benefits not covered by traditional Medicare, including eye exams and/or glasses (99 percent), telehealth services (94 percent), dental care (94 percent), a fitness benefit (93 percent) and hearing aids (93 percent).”

Seniors Can Choose From A Wide Range Of Coverage Options:

• “The average Medicare beneficiary in 2021 has access to 33 Medicare Advantage plans, the largest number of options available in the last decade.”

To read KFF’s full analysis, CLICK HERE.