Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare: Is the Balance Tipping?

(By – Tricia Neuman, Giselle Casillas, and Gretchen Jacobson – Kaiser Family Foundation)

A growing share of Medicare beneficiaries have been enrolling in Medicare Advantage plans over the past decade, prompting some to question whether the balance between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage could be on the verge of tipping. Since 2006, the share of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan has nearly doubled, from 16 to 31 percent, but in some counties, the percentage is much higher. In this brief, we look beneath national trends to examine Medicare Advantage penetration rates and growth rates in counties across the country to assess the extent to which Medicare Advantage plans are poised to cover more beneficiaries than traditional Medicare across the country. Read more…

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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