With normally lower premiums and more benefits, Medicare Advantage (MA) plans often offer great value in comparison to Original Medicare.  Despite featuring managed care restrictions and more limited provider choices, Medicare Advantage plans have been steadily pulling Medicare eligible seniors away from Original Medicare.  As of December 2021, over 27.3 million Americans were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. That's an increase of more than 55% from December 2016 Medicare Advantage enrollment levels.  By comparison, during this same five-year timespan, the total Medicare eligible population only grew by about 11%.

The popularity of Medicare Advantage plans througout the U.S. is mirrored in the six-state New England region. In the last five years MA plan enrollment in New England grew at an average rate of 12.7% per year, more than six times faster than the growth rate of the Medicare eligible population in the region during this period.  Here is a deeper look at New England's Medicare Advantage enrollment growth by state from December 2016 to December 2021:

New England's Medicare Advantage Enrollment Growth by State

	Medicare Eligible *			MA Enrollment *			Annual % Growth
State	Dec-21	Dec-16		Dec-21	Dec-16		Eligible	MedAdv
CT	706.9	648.0		347.9	173.2		1.8%	15.0%
MA	1,382.9	1,260.2		371.7	251.4		1.9%	8.1%
ME	357.9	317.9		173.9	81.6		2.4%	16.3%
NH	319.0	276.5		83.5	22.9		2.9%	29.5%
RI	229.7	209.8		106.0	73.8		1.8%	7.5%
VT	155.9	137.1		31.4	10.4		2.6%	24.7%
Region	3,152.3	2,849.5		1,114.3	613.3		2.0%	12.7%
U.S.**	63,710.0	57,388.1		27,294.4	17,562.2		2.1%	9.2%

* Medicare Eligible and MA Enrollment numbers in thousands, as of December 2021 and December 2016
** U.S. totals include territories
Numbers may not total due to rounding

Source: Medicare Monthly Enrollment by State Reports