Thanks to additional benefits and usually lower costs than regular Medicare coverage, Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans have much to offer cost-sensitive Medicare-eligible individuals. Despite utilizing sometimes unpopular managed care protocols to control costs, MA plans, with their more compelling value propositions, have been attracting growing numbers of Medicare-eligible seniors away from regular Medicare coverage.  From October 2016 through May 2023, a period of only about six-and-one-half years, the market share of Medicare Advantage plans across the U.S. has grown from under 31% of Medicare-eligible seniors to 48%.

The growing popularity of Medicare Advantage plans nationally is mirrored in the five-state Rocky Mountain region of the U.S., where MA plan enrollment has grown from an approximate 29.9% share of the Medicare-eligible market in October 2016 to a 44.8% market share as of May 2023.  Here is a state-by-state look at how Medicare Advantage market share in the Rocky Mountain region has expanded from October 2016 to May 2023:

Medicare Advantage Market Share in the Rocky Mountain Region

	Medicare Eligible (1)			MA Enrollment (1)			% MA Market Share
Area	May-23	Oct-16		May-23	Oct-16		May-23	Oct-16
CO	999.9	829.9		505.3	274.4		50.5%	33.1%
ID	377.6	294.7		175.4	93.7		46.5%	31.8%
MT	253.7	209.6		69.6	41.6		27.4%	19.8%
UT	446.2	359.3		220.3	123.7		49.4%	34.4%
WY	122.7	98.9		14.7	2.6		12.0%	2.6%
Region	2,200.1	1,792.5		985.3	536.0		44.8%	29.9%
Total(2)	65,390.9	56,888.7		31,362.0	17,489.5		48.0%	30.7%

(1) in thousands; region totals may not equal the sum of individual states due to rounding adjustments

(2) includes U.S. territories

Source:  Medicare Monthly Enrollment Reports