Top Payers Jockey Behind UnitedHealthcare in 2021 Medicare Open Enrollment Period
Medicare Advantage enrollment grew by about 257,000 lives during the 2021 Open Enrollment Period (OEP), according to CMS’s May data release and AIS’s Directory of Health Plans. As in the Annual Election Period (AEP), UnitedHealthcare dominated, holding about 32% of the overall OEP gains. Still, there were some shakeups among the other largest MA payers. In terms of membership gains, Centene Corp. (including enrollment from its WellCare brands) jumped from the No. 4 spot in the AEP to the No. 2 spot in the OEP, while Kaiser Permanente rose from No. 7 to No. 5. Cigna Corp., meanwhile, lost much of its momentum from the AEP, dropping from No. 9 to No. 20. See the top 25 OEP performers in the chart below.
NOTES: AEP Results = Enrollment change from October 2020 to February 2021; OEP Results = Enrollment change from February 2021 to May 2021.
SOURCE: CMS; DHP, AIS’s Directory of Health Plans; MMIT Analytics. Learn more about how DHP delivers current and comprehensive plan enrollment data at https://bit.ly/2RidwDT.
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