Updated October 14, 2019 with CMS revised landscape data.
As
noted in a recent press release from
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the total number of 2019 Medicare Advantage plans will increase across the country with about 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries having access to a Medicare Advantage plan.
- A brief review of Medicare Advantage plans: Medicare Advantage plans come in two general forms, MAs (Medicare Advantage plans that do not include prescription drug coverage) and MAPDs or Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage (MAPD). A Medicare Advantage plan (MA or MAPD) includes your Medicare Part A (in-patient and hospitalization coverage), Medicare Part B (out-patient and physician coverage), and may include additional healthcare benefits (basic dental, optical, hearing, and/or fitness coverage) - an MAPD also includes Medicare Part D drug coverage. If you enroll in some types of Medicare Advantage (MAs) that do not include drug coverage, you may not be permitted to also join a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan (PDP) (so be sure to check before you join).
- More 2019 Medicare Advantage plans than ever before: Overall, there will be 3,508 Medicare Advantage plans (MAs and MAPDs) available across the country in 2019, as compared to 3,001 Medicare Advantage plans offered in 2018.
- Most 2019 Medicare Advantage plans are MAPDs: 92% of 2019 Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage (MAPDs). In fact, a few more 2019 Medicare Advantage plans will include prescription drug coverage (MAPD) as compared to 2018 (91% MAPD).
- A few more 2019 MAs. There is a slight increase in the number of 2019 Medicare Advantage plans without prescription coverage (MA) as compared to 2018.
- More HMOs. The majority (around 68%) of 2019 Medicare Advantage plans will be HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) with a 13% increase in the number of 2019 HMO plans over 2018.
- More Local PPOs. There will be a 40% increase in 2019 Medicare Advantage Local PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations) plans as compared to 2018.
- The declining PFFS plan offering. The number of Private Fee for Service (PFFS) Medicare Advantage plans continues to decline in 2019 (a 4% decrease in PFFS plans). As a note, in 2015, the number of PFFS Medicare Advantage plans decreased by 43% (with PFFS Medicare Advantage plans offering prescription drug coverage decreasing by 66% or losing 33 PFFS MAPD plans in 2015) and have continued to decrease since that time.
- The Return of MSAs: Looking beyond just the numbers, 2019 Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) will now be available to a much larger population. In the chart below, we see that there are only 3 new Medicare Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) being offered in 2019, bringing the total to six MSAs. However, these six 2019 MSAs will now be available in 19 states (1,262 counties) across the country and available to millions of Medicare beneficiaries. As a comparison, in 2018, MSAs were available to Medicare beneficiaries in only 111 counties across two states. Unlike other Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, MSAs are made up of a high-deductible health plan and a medical savings account funded by an annual tax-free deposit. MSA members can use the medical savings account to pay for healthcare costs before the health plan deductible is met. MSA members can enroll in any available stand-alone Medicare Part D plan (PDP) for their drug coverage.
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Change in the Number of All Medicare Advantage plans
(both MA & MAPD)
|
|
Number of Medicare Advantage plans (MA & MAPD) |
Health Plan Type |
2019 |
2018 |
Change '18 to '19 |
2017 |
2016 |
Cost |
72 |
84 |
-12 |
-14% |
77 |
81 |
Local HMO |
2,400 |
2,130 |
270 |
13% |
1,920 |
1,865 |
Local PPO |
873 |
622 |
251 |
40% |
515 |
487 |
Regional PPO |
63 |
62 |
1 |
2% |
61 |
58 |
All PPOs |
936 |
684 |
252 |
37% |
576 |
545 |
PFFS |
44 |
46 |
-2 |
-4% |
48 |
57 |
MSA |
6 |
3 |
3 |
100% |
4 |
4 |
MMP |
50 |
54 |
-4 |
-7% |
62 |
68 |
Total MA & MAPD plans |
3,508 |
3,001 |
507 |
17% |
2,687 |
2,620 |
[Editorial Note, October 4, 2018] The number of Medicare Advantage plans that we report is calculated from the 2019 Medicare plan landscape data files and is slightly different than the number of Medicare Advantage plans reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As the recent
CMS press release stated: "Medicare Advantage will be offering approximately 600 more plans in 2019. The number of plans available to individuals to choose from across the country is increasing from about 3,100 to about 3,700 — and more than 91 percent of people with Medicare will have access to 10 or more Medicare Advantage plans, compared to nearly 86 percent in 2018."
Reminder: Types of Medicare Advantage Plans
As you browse through the
2019 Medicare Advantage plans, you will see in our Medicare Advantage search tools that there are seven common types of Medicare Advantage plans offered.
Change in the Number of MAPD plans |
|
Number of Medicare Advantage plans with Drug Coverage |
Health Plan Type |
2019 |
Change
'18 to '19 |
2018 |
Change
'17 to '18 |
2017 |
Change
'16 to '17 |
2016 |
Cost |
18 |
-12 |
30 |
-3 |
33 |
-1 |
34 |
Local HMO |
2,268 |
265 |
2,003 |
218 |
1,785 |
53 |
1,732 |
Local PPO |
817 |
240 |
577 |
98 |
479 |
38 |
441 |
PFFS |
29 |
-1 |
30 |
-2 |
32 |
-6 |
38 |
Regional PPO |
46 |
1 |
45 |
1 |
44 |
3 |
41 |
MMP |
50 |
-4 |
54 |
-8 |
62 |
-6 |
68 |
Total MAPD Plans |
3,228 |
489 |
2,739 |
304 |
2,435 |
81 |
2,354 |
Note the increases in Local HMO and Local PPO MAPD options for 2019 with a decline in MMP, Cost, and PFFS plans.
As compared to the 3,228 Medicare Advantage plans that provide prescription drug coverage (MAPDs) in 2019, there are only 280 different 2019 MAs or Medicare Advantage plans that offer health coverage only (no prescription drug coverage). And across the country, there will be 13 additional MA plans in 2019.
Change in the Number of
Medicare Advantage plans without Drug Coverage (MAs)
|
|
Number of MA Plans
|
Health Plan Type |
2019 |
Change
'18 to '19 |
2018 |
Change
'17 to '18 |
2017 |
Change
'16 to '17 |
2016 |
Cost |
54 |
0 |
54 |
10 |
44 |
-3 |
47 |
Local HMO |
132 |
5 |
127 |
-8 |
135 |
2 |
133 |
Local PPO |
56 |
11 |
45 |
9 |
36 |
-10 |
46 |
MSA |
6 |
3 |
3 |
-1 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
PFFS |
15 |
-1 |
16 |
0 |
16 |
-3 |
19 |
Regional PPO |
17 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
17 |
Total MA Plans w/o Rx Cov. |
280 |
18 |
262 |
10 |
252 |
-14 |
266 |
Other resources
The 2019 Medicare Advantage plan information is available in our 2019 Medicare Advantage plan finder (
MA-Finder) that can be found at:
MA-Finder.com/2019.
You can also see how each 2018 Medicare Advantage plan is changing in 2019 using our Medicare Advantage comparison tool found at:
MA-Compare.com/2019.
Reminder: October 15th starts the annual Open Enrollment Period
The annual Medicare Open Enrollment Period (or Annual Coordinated Election Period) for 2019 Medicare Part D plans and Medicare Advantage plans begins on October 15
th and continues through , December 7
th, with 2019 Medicare plan coverage beginning on January 1, 2019.
For more information, you can telephone Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 to speak with a Medicare representative.