More Medicare Advantage Options in 2022 Than Ever
The private plan alternative to traditional Medicare known as Medicare Advantage, commonly referred to as MA, has continued to take on a more significant role in the Medicare program over the past decade. The number of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan reached 26 million in 2021.
For the upcoming 2022 year, Medicare beneficiaries will have more options available than ever before. Patient’s will have access in their local market to an average of 39 Medicare Advantage plans. Double the amount of plan choices per patient than just five years ago.
The total number of Medicare Advantage plans offered in the United States for individual enrollment totals 3,834, the most plans offered on a nationwide basis in over ten years, and an eight percent increase from 2021. Eighty-nine percent of all Medicare Advantage plans offered in 2022 also include prescription drug coverage.
Local PPO plan offerings have increased dramatically over the last few years. For 2022, thirty-seven percent of all plans offered are local PPOs, in contrast to just twenty-five percent in 2018. The number of regional PPOs from 2021 to 2022 has remained the same. However, the amount of private fee-for-service plans has been on a continuous downward trend. HMO’s represent about fifty-nine percent of all plans offered in 2022, a bit of a decrease from past years, as they typically account for roughly seventy-five percent of plans available.
The expansion in the amount of plans differs from state to state, with Texas and Florida representing the majority of the increases with approximately 41 more plans in Texas and 32 in Florida. For the first time since 2010, Alaska has two plan offerings. Arkansas lost eight plans from 2021 to 2022, Kentucky lost six, Ohio and Washington both have three fewer, and Tennessee has two less plans in 2022 than previously offered in 2021.
On a nation-wide basis UnitedHealthcare is still the largest Medicare Advantage plan and its fastest grower (by members added). Humana is the second largest plan but grew at half the rate when compared to United. Together United and Human secure around 45% of the national market. CVS (Aetna) and Blue Cross plans are third and fourth respectively.
Twenty firms are joining the market in 2022, indicating Medicare Advantage is seen as a profitable market segment for insurers. These new firms joining the space resulted in approximately 19 percent growth in the number of plans available for enrollment with thirteen new entrants offering HMOs to individuals. More firms are also offering Special Needs Programs, referred to as SNPs, which indicates there may be greater focus on how well vulnerable beneficiaries are being served by Medicare Advantage plans as well as other general enrollment plans.
Insurers seem to be responding to patient demand by offering more plans and expanded options to the people on Medicare each year. As with prior years, over 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries will still have the option to choose from one or more Medicare Advantage plans in 2022. With more and more firms joining the market each year, and the options continuing to expand, Medicare Advantage is poised to continue to play a more significant role in the Medicare program in the upcoming years.
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Blog by: The ForeSee Medical Team