A KFF report showed 55% of eligible Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in privatized Medicare Advantage this year, “though the pace of enrollment growth continued to slow.” The report was issued June 5, 2026
getty
Despite some high-profile retreats by health insurers from Medicare Advantage, the privatized medical coverage for older adults continues to add health plan members and is now the choice of 55% of eligible beneficiaries, a new report shows.
Medicare Advantage plans contract with the federal government to provide coverage available in traditional Medicare plus extra benefits and services to seniors, such as disease management, drug coverage and nurse help hotlines with some also offering vision, dental care and wellness programs.
“While a growing share of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, the pace of the increase in enrollment continued to slow in 2026,” a new analysis by KFF shows.
The KFF analysis is an indication that Medicare Advantage remains popular among old adults and those who may have been forced to choose a new plan because their insurer left the market continued with such coverage at another company. Health insurers that are the biggest players in privatized Medicare Advantage coverage including UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare and CVS Health’s Aetna health insurance business have pulled back for this year after years expanding their geographic footprints.
But the KFF report indicated the large companies still have the biggest market share of Medicare Advantage.
“Medicare Advantage enrollment is highly concentrated among plans owned by a small number of parent organizations, with UnitedHealth Group leading the market, and, together with Humana, accounting for nearly half (46%) of all Medicare Advantage enrollees nationwide, the same as in 2025, and consistent with the pattern in prior years,” the KFF report showed.
“However, market shares for the leading parent organizations changed with UnitedHealth Group dropping to 26% (down from 29%), and Humana increasing to 20% (up from 17%),” KFF said. “In absolute numbers, Humana had the largest growth in enrollment, with 1.3 million more enrollees in 2026 than in 2025. In contrast, enrollment in UnitedHealth Group plans decreased by nearly 647,000 from 2025 to 2026.”
After two years of grappling with rising costs of seniors with a pent-up demand for healthcare services, health plans reevaluated the markets they have been in historically, including some that are unprofitable, and announced last fall that they are retreating to markets where they have adequate doctor and hospital networks to offer rich benefit packages at competitive prices.
Wall Street analysts and investors have been worried about whether these plans could manage their costs after promising first quarter financial results. So far, the companies are indicating that Medicare Advantage cost trends are easing from the last two years.
Humana, for example, last week reaffirmed its 2026 full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance of at least $9. And UnitedHealth and CVS stocks rallied last week along with other health insurers in part after analysts “highlighted moderating health care utilization trends,” Investors Business Daily said in a report.
Leave a comment