Rural enrollment in Medicare Advantage growing rapidly in 2007, especially in private fee-for-service plans

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans has more than tripled since the inception of the MA program at the beginning of 2006. However, rural enrollment remains well below urban enrollment as a percentage of the eligible population. This policy brief provides findings about enrollment in the newly designed MA program in rural and urban areas across the United States and updates early findings from analysis of the Medicare+Choice/ MA program presented in previous RUPRI Center policy briefs.

As of June 5, 2007 (date of release by CMS), (1) Over 780,000 rural Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in an MA plan, an increase of 50% since November 2006, and a 222% increase since 2005. (2) Despite significant growth in MA plans, only 8.6% of rural persons were enrolled in MA plans in June 2007, compared to 21.7% of urban persons. (3) Over half (55%) of rural persons enrolled in MA or prepaid plans were in private fee-for-service (PFFS) plans, compared to only 14% of urban persons. (4) PFFS enrollment in rural areas in June 2007 was concentrated in several PFFS plans, with almost 90% of rural persons enrolled in plans run by seven organizations serving about 2,000 counties in the United States.