The Medicare open enrollment period is underway through December 7th. During this open enrollment period many Medicare eligible seniors will be considering a change in their Medicare coverage to a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan. MA Plans are a type of health plan offered by private insurers as an alternative to original Medicare. MA plans are offered through private insurance companies that contract with the federal government to offer an alternative to Medicare Part A and Part B benefits coverage. With these MA plans, the U.S. government basically contracts private insurers to offer Medicare eligible individuals health plans that, at a minimum, match Original Medicare Part A and Part B benefits. MA plans have grown increasingly popular as private insurers have been able to effectively bundle Part A and Part B benefits, plus a variety of extra benefits, into their MA plans at minimal to no cost to enrollees.
With lower costs and more benefits, MA plans can be an excellent value compared to Original Medicare. The additional value that comes with MA plans is usually made possible, in part, by requiring enrollees to use more restricted provider networks and to adhere to managed care protocols, plan features that are not found with Original Medicare coverage. While MA Plans can come in several insurance models, the most popular such plans feature HMO and PPO structures. Despite managed care protocols and fewer provider choices, increasing numbers of Medicare eligible seniors have been migrating 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 MA plans, an increase of more than 40% in the past 4 years. During this same four year period total Medicare enrollment across all 50 states only grew about 10%, so with MA enrollment expanding faster than overall Medicare enrollment, MA's share of the Medicare market has seen material growth, from about 30% four years ago to 39% today.
MA plan enrollment has grown even faster in the New England states than it has nationally. In the past four years, Medicare Advantage enrollment has grown 62% in New England as compared to 42% growth nationally. Here is a closer look at the growth of Medicare Advantage plans in New England over the last four years:
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| The Growth of Medicare Advantage Plans in New England |
| Medicare Eligible (in thousands) | MA Enrollment (in thousands) | % Growth | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | 2020 | 2016 | 2020 | 2016 | Eligible | MedAdv | ||
| CT | 693.3 | 643.9 | 314.9 | 172.2 | 7.7% | 82.9% | ||
| MA | 1,356.7 | 1,250.9 | 334.6 | 249.7 | 8.5% | 34.0% | ||
| ME | 348.2 | 315.3 | 152.5 | 80.3 | 10.4% | 89.8% | ||
| NH | 308.5 | 273.9 | 68.2 | 22.6 | 12.6% | 201.9% | ||
| RI | 225.3 | 208.5 | 95.7 | 73.6 | 8.1% | 29.9% | ||
| VT | 151.8 | 135.9 | 22.1 | 10.4 | 11.7% | 112.7% | ||
| NE Only | 3,084 | 2,828 | 987.9 | 608.8 | 9.0% | 62.3% | ||
| 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.
