A Brief Analysis of the 2022 Medicare Market Competition

October 21, 2021

Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment continues to experience enrollment increases as MA plans, with extra benefits and services at lower costs over original Medicare, remain an appealing option for seniors.  While MA market penetration is strong, there is still ample opportunity for growth in this segment, with approximately 44% of the 63 million people eligible for Medicare enrolled in MA plans. MA commands a sizable share of the healthcare industry, providing medical coverage to nearly 28 million beneficiaries.

In the last three years, these plans have collectively increased enrollment by approximately 6.3 million members.  The 2022 Annual Election Period (AEP) for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and prescription drug plans (PDPs) is currently underway as of October 15^th.  Medicare Benefits Analyzer™, a Mark Farrah Associates’ database, helps simplify analysis of the Medicare.gov data for companies competing in this segment. This brief presents a snapshot of the 2022 Medicare Advantage market with insights from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Landscape reports. 

 

Medicare Landscape at a Glance

Based on an aggregate analysis of CMS Landscape reports, a total of 5,430 distinct Medicare Advantage (MA) plan offerings are in the market lineup for the 2022 AEP.  This includes MA plans, Medicare Advantage with prescription drug plans (MAPDs), Medicare/Medicaid plans (MMPs), and Special Needs Plans (SNPs). During the AEP, Medicare beneficiaries can choose to change MA plans or switch from Original Medicare to MA, for plan benefits effective on January 1, 2022.  As indicated in the charts below:

·        A total of 4,232 MA and MAPD plans are being offered for 2022, an increase from the 3,939 plans offered for 2021. 

·        Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) continue to be the dominant MA plan type with 2,507 offerings, or 59% of MA plans for the coming year. 

·        A total of 4,232, or 89% of MA plans, include Part D benefits.

·        1,198 Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are available for 2022, up from 1,019 in 2021.  

·        Stand-alone PDPs, nationwide, considerably decreased from 1,007 plans in 2021 to 776 plan offerings for 2022.

 

Medicare Advantage Plan Counts (MA & MAPD)
Year	Cost	Local HMO	Local PPO	MMP	MSA	PFFS	Regional   PPO	Total
2021	70	2,440	1,292	43	5	37	52	3,939
2022	64	2,507	1,521	43	11	34	52	4,232

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Special Needs Plan Counts (SNPs)
Year	Local HMO	Local PPO	Regional PPO	Total
2021	910	97	12	1,019
2022	1,052	136	10	1,198

 

2022 Medicare Advantage Part D Coverage
	Count	Percent
Total Number of Plans	4,232	100%
Plans without Part D	457	11%
Plans with Part D	3,775	89%

 

Stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan Counts (PDPs)
Year	PDP
2021	1,007
2022	776

Source: Mark Farrah Associates' Medicare Benefits Analyzer ^TM presenting data from CMS Medicare Landscape Source Files;
excludes employer-sponsored plans. For this assessment, plans were counted as distinct company records by Contract-Plan-Segment ID without geographic distribution.

2022 MA Premium Spread

Per the chart below, total monthly premiums range from $0 to $302.  Sixty percent of 2022 MA plans (excluding SNPs) are available at the $0 plan premium level, while 22% of plans will be charging monthly premiums ranging from $2 to $50. Only 63 plans (1%) are charging monthly premiums greater than $200.  These benefits-rich plans typically have low copays and as a result estimated out-of-pocket expenses are often minimal. 

 

2022 Medicare Advantage Premium Spread
	Count	Percent
Total Number of Plans	4,232	100%
$0 Premium	2,534	60%
$2 - $50 Premium	941	22%
$51 - $100 Premium	415	10%
$101 - $200 Premium	268	6%
Greater than $200 Premium	63	1%
Null Premium Value	11	0%

Source: Mark Farrah Associates' Medicare Benefits Analyzer ^TM presenting data from CMS Medicare Landscape Source Files;
excludes employer-sponsored plans. For this assessment, plans were counted as distinct company records by Contract-Plan-Segment ID without geographic distribution.

2022 MA Plan Competition

·        According to the 2022 CMS Landscape reports, Humana continues to market more MA plans than any other insurer nationwide, with 612 distinct plans, as the insurer continues to broaden its offerings and expand coverage for 2022.  Humana recently announced a significant expansion in Tennessee for the 2022 plan year and will introduce a new statewide Dual Eligible Special Needs Medicare Advantage (D-SNP) plan for seniors. 

·        UnitedHealth and CVS will also continue to increase MA plan offerings and expand $0 premium plan options for the 2022 calendar year, identifying 528 and 516 distinct plans, respectively.

·        Anthem will be offering 232 plans and will add 154 new counties in 2022.   

·        BCBS companies (excluding Anthem) will be offering 531 MA plans, nationwide.

·        Centene will offer 413 MA plans for 2022.  The insurer announced it plans to grow its MA footprint by 26%, expanding into 327 additional counties in Massachusetts, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Source: Mark Farrah Associates' Medicare Benefits Analyzer ^TM presenting data from CMS Medicare Landscape Source Files;
excludes employer-sponsored plans. For this assessment, plans were counted as distinct company records by Contract-Plan-Segment ID without geographic distribution.

Medicare Benefits Analyzer^TM for Comparing Medicare Benefits

Analysts often use benefits data from the Medicare.gov website to compare plan premiums, copays, and star rating awards, market by market.  Identifying plan-by-plan benefits details such as annual Out-of-Pocket Limits and Deductibles; Primary Care Doctor Visit Copays; Specialist Doctor Visit Copays; Inpatient Hospital Copays; Ambulance and Emergency Room Copays; and Drug Tier Copays helps companies to assess competitive advantages across markets.  This type of comparative analysis provides invaluable intelligence that prepares Medicare plans to promote and sell their products. 

In order to help Medicare plans access and use Medicare.gov data more efficiently, Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) maintains this data in its Medicare Benefits Analyzer^TM product.  2022 data is online now along with Star Quality Ratings to complement the benefits detail.  Subscribers may query tables presenting plan benefit comparisons by state and county or download large datasets using the file export interface.  Subscribers also have access to Medicare Business Online™ for tracking month-to-month Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan enrollment changes.  Visit our website at www.markfarrah.com or call 724-338-4100 for more information.

About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA)

Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) is a leading data aggregator and publisher providing health plan market data and analysis tools for the healthcare industry. Our product portfolio includes Health Coverage Portal™, County Health Coverage™, Medicare Business Online™, Medicare Benefits Analyzer™, 5500 Employer Health ^PLUS, and Health Plans USA™. For more information about these products, refer to the informational videos and brochures available under the Our Products section of the website or call 724-338-4100.

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