1.3 Million More People Enrolled In Medicare Managed Care Plans, USA

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 19 Nov 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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More than 8.8 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in managed care plans in October 2007, up 1,319,628 lives in the past year, according to a Healthcare Business Strategy brief released by Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) on October 30th.

MFA analyzed Medicare data provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and found that private-fee-for-service plans (PFFS) gained the most members over the year, while the greatest growth rate among Medicare Advantage plan-types was in the new regional preferred provider organization plans, which increased their membership by more than 130% over the year. Enrollment in stand-alone prescription drug plans continued to climb as well, topping 17 million members in October 2007.

Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) still dominate the Medicare Advantage landscape but have ceded market share in the past year, dropping from 74.1% to 65.5% in that time. PFFS plans have gained the most market share, growing from 11% to 19.3% of total enrollment.

Analysis of the data also revealed that the top 10 Medicare Advantage companies account for 58% of national market share. UnitedHealth Group retained its market-leading position despite continuing losses in enrollment and decline in market share between October 2006 and October 2007. UnitedHealth's top two competitors, Humana and Kaiser Permanente, also lost market share over the year, though not to United's extent. Top gainers were Universal American and Coventry Health Care, which have grown in part through acquisitions since October 2006.

To keep abreast of market share, competition, trends and all the latest developments in the Prescription Drug Plan and Medicare Advantage arena, MFA has developed Medicare Business OnlineTM , a very useful tracking tool. This user-friendly online database provides monthly updates with essential Medicare market data. Annual subscriptions include insightful analysis reports about this high-growth market segment.

To learn more about Medicare Business Online™ please visit the Mark Farrah Associates website here.

About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA)

Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) provides health plan market data and analysis tools. Since 1997, we've been recognized as a leader in analyzing health insurance business. We are committed to simplifying the analysis of health insurance business. With our portfolio of online data products, industry-focused research and knowledge management systems, we deliver insight. MFA serves a wide range of companies with interests in healthcare. Our portfolio includes online data products, industry-focused market reports and research consulting services. Our products include the Health Coverage Portal, Health Insurer Insights, Health Plans USA and Medicare Business Online.

Mark Farrah Associates