Better Medicare Alliance’s (BMA) annual report on Medicare Advantage provides a snapshot of the industry’s landscape and current trends in enrollment, affordability, benefits, and outcomes.
Despite the challenges that Medicare Advantage organizations have recently faced, a new report compiled by a research and advocacy group for Medicare Advantage, finds that the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare is quite strong. BMA’s 2025 report on the state of Medicare Advantage, shows that the program continues to offer predictable coverage, coverage, coordinated care, and supplemental benefits that help seniors access care more affordably than fee-for-service Medicare.
Sustaining the progress will take partnership Congress, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, providers, community groups, and plans to ensure stability, clear rules, and targeted reforms that strengthen affordability and access, BMA said in the study announcement.
Among the trends identified in this year’s report:
Enrollment
· One million Medicare beneficiaries (nearly 56 percent of all eligible individuals) are enrolled in Medicare Advantage.
· There are 5.3 million full duals and 2.7 million partial duals enrolled in Medicare Advantage, making up 15.2 percent and 7.7 percent of the Medicare Advantage population, respectively.
· Thirty-one percent of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries identify as Black, Latino, or Asian, compared to 18.8 percent in fee-for-service Medicare.
· Forty-two percent of the Medicare population in rural counties are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, almost four times the share in 2010.
Access
· Access remains nearly universal, with 99.6 percent of beneficiaries able to choose from multiple plans.
· Ninety-nine percent of beneficiaries have access to a $0 premium Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan.
· Ninety-eight percent of beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage of individual plans offering a telehealth benefit.
· Ninety-seven percent of individual plans offer a telehealth benefit.
Affordability
· Seniors in Medicare Advantage spend an average of $3,486 less annually on premiums and out-of-pocket costs compared to fee-for-service Medicare.
· The average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $17 in 2025.
Quality and outcomes
· Beneficiaries with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension experience lower hospital and emergency department use, fewer preventable hospitalizations, and higher rates of preventive care.
· Individuals in fee-for-service are 71 percent more likely to have preventable hospitalizations, have 126 percent higher 30-day readmissions, have 30 percent more hospital days, and 11 percent higher total costs compared to individuals in Medicare Advantage with similar risk levels.
· Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with prediabetes who develop Type 2 diabetes are diagnosed nearly five months earlier on average than similar fee-for-service beneficiaries.
· Individuals in Medicare Advantage are more than twice as likely to receive a colorectal cancer screening.
Satisfaction
· Ninety-five percent of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries report being satisfied with their quality of care.
Supplemental benefits
· Ninety-nine percent of beneficiaries have access to comprehensive plans offering dental, vision, hearing, and wellness benefits not available in traditional Medicare.