Q1Group 2017 MA Analysis: A preliminary summary of the 2017 Medicare Advantage plan landscape

Our short analysis of the 2017 Medicare Advantage plan landscape is based on the 2017 Medicare plan information (MA, MAPD, and SNP) released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). (The CMS 2017 data was compiled earlier in September 2016 and subject to change as the Medicare plan contracts are finalized.)

The total number of Medicare Advantage plans increased in 2017. The total number of 2017 Medicare Advantage plans will increase slightly across the country with approximately 2% more Medicare Advantage plans available.
However, some service areas (counties) will experience Medicare Advantage plan terminations or consolidations. In some areas, many 2017 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 2017 (and have the introduction of nine (9) new 2017 Medicare Advantage plans). It is not yet known if current 2016 Medicare plan members will be automatically “crosswalked” to another plan or whether they will need to choose a 2017 Medicare plan.
Many 2017 Medicare Advantage plans are available with a low monthly premium. Overall, 70% of the 2017 Medicare Advantage plans will have premiums under $50, with 34% of the 2017 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.
Most 2017 Medicare Advantage plans will be HMOs. The majority (around 71%) of 2017 Medicare Advantage plans will be HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations), 22% of 2017 Medicare Advantage plans will be Local PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations).
Most (90%) of 2017 Medicare Advantage plans will include prescription drug coverage (MAPDs).
Slightly fewer 2017 Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage will offer Donut Hole coverage for prescriptions purchased while in the Coverage Gap. However, the 2017 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 Medicare Advantage plans are changing in 2017, see our MA-Compare.com/2017 – begin by entering your ZIP code. To get you started with our MA-Compare, you can click here for an example of how all Medicare Advantage plans available in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania are changing in 2017. 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 2017 Medicare Advantage plans, you can to go directly to our 2017 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/2017.

At this time, our MA-Finder provides basic information on all Medicare Advantage plans, including monthly premiums, prescription deductible, Gap or Donut Hole coverage availability, and Medicare Part A and Part B Maximum Out-of-Pocket limit (or MOOP). We will be updating the MA-Finder with plan cost-sharing and coverage information as it becomes available. 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.

If you are interested in seeing an overview of Medicare prescription drug plans, our stand-alone 2017 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) finder (or PDP-Finder) is also online and provides basic information on all 2017 Medicare Part D plans available in your state. PDP-Finder can be found directly at: PDP-Finder.com/2017.

If you would like to see how stand-alone 2016 Medicare prescription drug plans are changing in 2017, you can use our PDP-Compare.com/2017 (here is an example for California).

If you are looking for an analysis of the 2017 Medicare Part D plan landscape on a national and state-by-state basis our PDP-Facts.com/2017 is now online.

Remember that the 2017 annual Open Enrollment Period for Medicare Part D plans and Medicare Advantage plans begins on October 15^th and continues through December 7^th – with your new Medicare plan coverage beginning on January 1, 2017.