The Medicare open enrollment period is now underway through December 7th. During this period, many Medicare beneficiaries will contemplate changing their Medicare coverage to a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan. MA Plans are an increasingly popular type of health plan offered by private insurers as an alternative to original Medicare. MA plans are offered through private insurers that contract with the federal government to provide an alternative to Medicare Part A and Part B benefits coverage. With MA plans, the U.S. government basically contracts private companies to offer Medicare eligible individuals health plans that, at a minimum, match Original Medicare Part A and Part B benefits. What gives MA plans their growing appeal is that private insurers have been able to bundle these Part A and Part B benefits with a variety of extra benefits, at little to no cost to enrollees.
With lower costs and extra benefits, Medicare Advantage Plans can be a great value compared to Original Medicare. The additional value offered by MA plans is made possible, in part, through the imposition of managed care protocols and restricted provider networks that are not found with Original Medicare coverage. While MA Plans can come in a various insurance models, the most popular MA plans feature PPO and HMO structures. Notwithstanding managed care requirements and fewer provider choices, more and more Medicare eligible seniors are switching to Medicare Advantage plans because of the value they offer. As of October 2020, across all 50 states there were about 24 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, an increase of more than 40% in the past 4 years. During this same timespan total Medicare enrollment across all 50 states has grown only about 10%, so the faster MA plan enrollment growth has translated into a growing share of the Medicare market for MA plans, from just 30% four years ago to 39% today.
The growing popularity of Medicare Advantage plans nationally is mirrored in the Great Lakes states, where MA enrollment over the past four years has grown nearly 46%, in contrast to only an 8% increase in overall Medicare enrollment during this period in the five-state region. Consequently, MA market share in the region has jumped from around 29% four years ago to nearly 39% today. Here is a closer look at Medicare Advantage growth in the Great Lakes states over the last four years:
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| Medicare Advantage Growth in the Great Lakes States |
| Medicare Eligible (in thousands) | MA Enrollment (in thousands) | % Growth | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | 2020 | 2016 | 2020 | 2016 | Eligible | MedAdv | ||
| IL | 2,276.0 | 2,122.0 | 621.9 | 412.5 | 7.3% | 50.8% | ||
| IN | 1,284.8 | 1,182.1 | 463.6 | 295.3 | 8.7% | 57.0% | ||
| MI | 2,108.3 | 1,950.1 | 973.6 | 638.0 | 8.1% | 52.6% | ||
| OH | 2,385.3 | 2,211.7 | 1,027.4 | 754.1 | 7.8% | 36.2% | ||
| WI | 1,206.5 | 1,087.4 | 513.3 | 369.4 | 11.0% | 38.9% | ||
| GL Only | 9,260.9 | 8,553.3 | 3,599.8 | 2,469.4 | 8.3% | 45.8% | ||
| All States | 61,584 | 55,972 | 24,050 | 16,909 | 10.0% | 42.2% | ||
For a summary look at MA plan enrollment growth in other states, check out our resource page Medicare Advantage Enrollment Growth.
