Medicare Advantage Enrollment Reaches 17 Million According to Mark Farrah Associates
KENNEBUNK, Maine, March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mark Farrah Associates (MFA), www.markfarrah.com, assessed aggregated enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans in their recent analysis brief. According to the report, approximately 17.3 million people were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans as of March 2015, an increase of more than 1.3 million members year-over-year. 54.3 million people are eligible for Medicare, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), with an unpenetrated market of 37 million and growing.
Medicare Advantage plans rely on February and March enrollment reports to not only evaluate their standing but also assess which competitors gained and lost members during the last AEP (Annual Election Period) or Open Enrollment Period, which occurs between October 15 and December 7 each year. Carriers with more than 250,000 members cover 67% of all Medicare Advantage enrollees. All but two leading MA companies experienced growth from March 2014 to March 2015.
Mark Farrah Associates found that UnitedHealthcare remained the top MA organization in the country as of March 2015 with 3.4 million enrolled, gaining 271,245 new MA members. UnitedHealth owns nearly 20% of the market while Humana ranks a strong second with 18% market share. Humana added 369,747 new members for a net gain of 13.2%. Aetna and Kaiser Permanente also saw significant gain with more than 1.2 million MA enrolled.
Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans is primarily through two sources: direct purchase by individuals or from a retiree plan offered by an employer. MFA found 82% of MA membership was individual while only 18% of total MA enrollees are in employer group health plans (EGHP's). Nonetheless, group membership grew by 6% year-over-year primarily driven by UnitedHealth plan gains.
HMO plans have been the predominant type of coverage in the Medicare Advantage segment for several years. As of March 2015, about 62% of all members were enrolled in an HMO plan. PPOs, including local and regional plans, covered 31% of MA enrollees. Medicare-Medicaid HMO plans, CMS and state Medicaid agencies' new programs to cover the dual eligible population, enrolled more than 300,000, up from only 9,000 in 2014.
To read the full text of "Medicare Advantage Tops 17 Million Members", visit the Analysis Briefs library on Mark Farrah Associates' website www.markfarrah.com.
About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA)
MFA is a leading data aggregator and publisher providing health plan market data and analysis tools for the healthcare industry. Committed to simplifying analysis of health insurance business, our products include Medicare Business Online™, Medicare Benefits Analyzer™ Health Coverage Portal™, County Health Coverage™, Health Insurer Insights™, and Health Plans USA™.
Contacts:
Mark Farrah Associates
Ann Marie Wolfe, 412-595-7124
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SOURCE Mark Farrah Associates
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