The number of seniors choosing to enroll in Medicare Advantage, the private sector alternative to traditional Medicare, continues to increase.
Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows that the number of Advantage beneficiaries is up 7.3 percent from where it was in September 2014. About 17.7 million people are enrolled in an MA plan, up from nearly 16.5 million individuals at the same time last year, CMS said.
The percentage of beneficiaries choosing Advantage over traditional Medicare has more than doubled in the past decade. According to studies by the Kaiser Foundation, the percentage increased from 13 percent in 2005 to 31 percent in 2015. And, a survey from Health Affairs out early this year showed that more than half of those who enrolled in Medicare in the past few years have chosen MA.
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Recent news has pointed to the, pardon the pun, advantage that beneficiaries, providers and insurers see in the burgeoning MA market. More and more insurers are beginning to offer plans in the program, and recent analysis from Avalere Health showed that more than half of the insurance groups that began participating in the past three years were backed by health systems.
A recent survey by AHIP, an insurance industry group, suggested that Advantage was particularly popular among certain demographic groups, including Hispanics and those with low incomes.
There has nevertheless been criticism that MA is not providing the type of private sector-style competition upon which it is premised. A recent study showed that many MA markets throughout the country, particularly in rural areas, were dominated by a few big insurers.
Indeed, the report by PricewaterhouseCooper found that UnitedHealth Group was the number one MA insurer, covering more than 3.48 million beneficiaries. Next is Humana, with 3.23 million. Both companies saw big increases in enrollment over the past year, as did Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, a nonprofit insurer, which boasts 1.33 million beneficiaries.
Some insurers did not do well, however, as a result of raising premiums or cutting benefits. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, which last month announced intentions to dramatically increase premiums for its PPACA plans, saw a drop in enrollment, as did Highcross.
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