Medicare Advantage Enrollment Increasing By 10.2% Next Year

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage has been increasing steadily since the early 2000s and the growth will continue next year, according to figures recently announced by CMS

A CMS press release yesterday said 26.9 million Medicare beneficiaries are expected to enroll in Medicare Advantage plans next year, a 10.2% increase from this year’s enrollment of 24.4 million.

The enrollment increase is consistent with the trend of the growing popularity of Medicare Advantage plans relative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare. Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has doubled over the past 10 years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s figures. More than a third of Medicare beneficiaries are now in Medicare Advantage plans.

From "A Dozen Facts About Medicare Advantage in 2020," KFF, April 22, 2020.

The CMS press release also said that the average monthly premium for a Medicare Advantage plan is expected to decrease next year by 11%, from $23.60 this year to an estimated $21 next year.

CMS also reported that the that the average number of Medicare Advantage plan choices on a county-by-county basis is expected to increase next year to 47 plans per county compared with 39 per county this year.