For the past decade, Medicare Advantage (MA) plans added nearly 10 million members. In 2017, one-third of Medicare beneficiaries nationally had enrolled in MA plans. Western states embraced MA early, with nearly one-third of beneficiaries enrolled in these plans in 2008. This region continues to have the highest rates of MA enrollment, though growth has leveled off since 2014.

The Midwest and South have experienced much more dramatic growth over the past decade, with penetration rates increasing from under 20% in 2008 to over 30% in 2017, resulting in significant convergence in regional MA penetration rates. More than 40% of the growth in MA enrollment in the past decade has come from southern states, with Florida and Texas adding nearly a million lives each.

Source: Manatt Health analysis of Medicare Advantage State and County Penetration Data, accessed April 2018, at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/MCRAdvPartDEnrolData/MA-State-County-Penetration.html