A brief overview of the 2018 Medicare Advantage plan (MA and MAPD) landscape

The following is a brief overview of the 2018 Medicare Advantage plan landscape data (MA, MAPD, MMP, and SNP) recently released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

The total number of Medicare Advantage plans increased in 2018. The total number of 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will increase across the country with approximately 14% more Medicare Advantage plans available. Loudoun County, Virginia will see the largest increase of 21 additional Medicare Advantage plans.

Even with the total number of Medicare Advantage plans increasing across the country, some service areas (counties) will experience Medicare Advantage plan terminations or consolidations. In some service areas, many 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will be terminated or merged into other plans and many counties will see significant changes in their Medicare Advantage plan landscape. The counties losing the most Medicare Advantage plans are in the states of: New York, Ohio, and Florida. As an example, Queens County, New York and Bronx County, New York will lose thirty-three (33) Medicare Advantage plan options in 2018 (and have the introduction of nine (9) new 2018 Medicare Advantage plans). It is not yet known if current 2017 Medicare plan members will be automatically “crosswalked” to another plan or whether they will need to choose a 2018 Medicare plan.
Many Medicare Advantage plans are available with a low monthly premium. Overall, 70% of the 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will have premiums under $50, with 34% of the 2018 Medicare Advantage plan have a $0 premium, 10% in the $0.01 to $25 premium bracket and 27% in the $25.01 to $50 premium bracket. Los Angeles Country will offer the most Medicare Advantage plans (46) with a $0 premium.

Most 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will be HMOs. The majority (around 71%) of 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will be HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations), 22% of 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will be Local PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations).
Most of 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will include prescription drug coverage (MAPDs). About 91% of all 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will include prescription drug coverage (MAPDs) – as compared to Medicare Advantage plans without drug coverage (MAs).
Slightly fewer 2018 Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage will offer Donut Hole coverage for prescriptions purchased while in the Coverage Gap. However, the 2018 Donut Hole discount will increase to a 60% discount for brand-name drugs and a 49% discount on generic drug purchases.

As a reminder, Medicare Advantage plan cost and coverage can change every year and if you would like an overview of how individual 2017 Medicare Advantage plans are changing in 2018, see our MA-Compare.com/2018 – begin by entering your ZIP code. To get you started with our MA-Compare, you can click here for an example of how all 2018 Medicare Advantage plans available in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania are changing in 2018. Again, just enter your own ZIP code and click on “Click to Compare Annual Plan Changes” to see plans in your county.

To review all 2018 Medicare Advantage plans, you can click here to go directly to our 2018 MA-Finder and begin by entering your ZIP code to see all plans available in your county or you may wish to narrow your search by selecting specific plan features in the search box. Our MA-Finder can also be found directly at: MA-Finder.com/2018. To get you started, you can click on the following link for an example of all Medicare Advantage plans available in Queens County, New York or you can click here for an example of all the Medicare Advantage plans in Cook County, Illinois. Just change the ZIP code to match your area to see the plans available to you.