Medicare Advantage enrollment rates now top more than 50% of Medicare enrollees in 123 congressional districts, according to new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data analyzed by the Better Medicare Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Medicare Advantage plans.
This enrollment level is up 37% from 90 districts a year ago, the organization said.
The top 10 states for the Medicare Advantage option enrollment, according to BMA’s Medicare Advantage enrollment map, published Wednesday, are Alabama (53% MA enrollment), Michigan (53%), Florida (53%), Hawaii (51%), Connecticut (51%), Maine (51%), Oregon (51%), Georgia (49%), Louisiana (49%) and Minnesota (49%). Data show that 31 states currently have Medicare Advantage enrollment rates of more than 40%, BMA said.
The research and advocacy group noted that 83 of the 123 Medicare Advantage-majority districts are represented by Democratic members, whereas Republicans represent the remaining 40 districts.
“In this data, we see a continuing shift as Democratic districts now lead the growth in Medicare Advantage. This has important policy and political implications,” said Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and chair of the BMA Board of Directors. “With polling showing that 92% of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries believe a candidate’s support for MA is important to earning their vote, lawmakers have a powerful incentive to continue standing up for the health coverage their constituents choose and deserve.”
