An influx of new Medicare Advantage health plans will expand insurance options 20 percent for seniors this year—a move that’s expected to drive record numbers of enrollees, Forbes reported this week.
Come Oct. 15, when open enrollment for MA plans begins, buyers will have roughly 600 more choices, due in large part to expansion efforts by large insurers like UnitedHealth Group, Aetna, Cigna, Humana and Anthem. According to Forbes, UnitedHealth alone plans to expand its individual Medicare plan offerings to 130 more counties, plus Minnesota, in 2019.
Humana will expand its HMO options into 97 new counties and its PPO plans into 352, and Anthem is expected to launch MA plans in 150 new counties. Cigna and Aetna have also committed to expanding their offerings.
With that increase in options, Forbes reported MA enrollment is likely to exceed 22 million this year.
“This year’s Medicare Advantage annual election period is only a few days away, and all signs are pointing toward a record increase in MA enrollment,” Andrew Kadar, of L.E.K. Consulting, told the outlet.
Read the full report from Forbes:
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.