Gretchen Jacobson Follow @GretchJacob on
Twitter, Meredith Freed,
Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman Follow @tricia_neuman on
Twitter Published: Oct 24, 2019
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APPENDIX
Medicare Advantage
plans have taken a large and growing role in the Medicare program over the past
decade, with more than 22 million Medicare
beneficiaries (34%) enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans in
2019, a private plan alternative to the traditional Medicare program. This
brief provides an overview of the Medicare Advantage plans that will be
available for 2020, based on an analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS). Findings include:
·
Number
of Plans. Nationwide,
3,148 Medicare Advantage plans will be available for individual enrollment for
the 2020 plan year – an increase of 414 plans since 2019. The average
beneficiary will be able to choose among 28 plans in 2020, up from 24 in 2019
(ES Figure). The number of Special Needs Plans (SNPs) will also increase from
717 plans in 2019 to 855 plans in 2020.
Figure
1: The average Medicare beneficiary has access to 28 Medicare Advantage plans
in 2020, an increase from prior years
·
Variation
in Number of Plans. The number of
Medicare Advantage plans will vary greatly across counties in 2020, from 31
plans, on average, in metropolitan counties to 16 plans, on average, in
non-metropolitan counties. More than 60 plans will be available in six counties
(in OH and PA), while no plans will be offered in 77 counties (accounting for
less than 1% of beneficiaries) in 2020.
·
Number
of Firms. The average
beneficiary will be able to choose from plans offered by seven firms in 2020,
similar to 2019. Four percent of all Medicare beneficiaries will have a choice
of plans offered by two or fewer firms while 24 percent will be able to choose
from plans offered by 10 or more firms.
·
Market
Entrants and Exits. Thirteen
insurers will be entering the Medicare Advantage market for the first time, and
one insurer will be exiting in 2020. In all, well over 100 firms will offer
Medicare Advantage plans in 2020.
·
Extra
Benefits. Nearly all
beneficiaries (97%) have access to a Medicare Advantage plan that provides
dental, fitness, vision, and hearing benefits, which are not covered by
traditional Medicare. Many beneficiaries also have access to some
transportation assistance (92%) and a meal benefit (96%), but some benefits are
less frequently available, such as in-home support (54%), bathroom safety
(49%), telemonitoring services (29%), and support for caregivers of enrollees
(12%).
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