Medicare Advantage Enrollment Update 2016.

Area of Science:

• Health Policy Analysis
• Rural Health
• Medicare Programs

Background:

• Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are a growing component of the Medicare program.
• Understanding enrollment trends in non-metropolitan (rural) areas is crucial for policy analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in Medicare Advantage enrollment among non-metropolitan beneficiaries.
• To identify key developments and state-level variations in rural MA enrollment.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of annual Medicare Advantage enrollment data through March.
• Comparison of non-metropolitan enrollment data with national averages.
• Tracking enrollment changes in different MA plan types.

Main Results:

• Non-metropolitan MA enrollment reached 2,189,300 (21.8% of rural beneficiaries) by March 2016.
• The annual growth rate of rural MA enrollment slowed to 5.5% from March 2015 to March 2016.
• Enrollment in private fee-for-service MA plans declined, while other MA plan types saw increases.
• Minnesota, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New York had the highest percentages of rural beneficiaries in MA plans.
• Rural MA enrollment counts declined in Hawaii, Idaho, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming.

Conclusions:

• While rural Medicare Advantage enrollment continues to grow, the rate of increase is decelerating.
• Shifts in enrollment are occurring from private fee-for-service to other MA plan types.
• Significant state-level variations exist in the adoption of Medicare Advantage plans in rural areas.