KENNEBUNK, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Medicare Advantage (MA) plans enrolled 11.12 million as of July 2009, up nearly 700,000 members since January 1, 2009. MA membership surpassed 11 million enrollees in May. Despite conservative growth strategies, stricter marketing regulations and legislation which reined in popular Private-Fee-For-Service (PFFS) plans, MA companies are still experiencing moderate growth rates. Mark Farrah Associates' latest Business Strategy Report, using enrollment data through July 1, 2009, released by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), takes a look at how Medicare Advantage companies have performed through mid-year 2009.

Total MA plan enrollment as of July 2009 stood at 11,120,953, with a gain of 699,560 net new members from January to July 2009. The 6.7% growth rate through mid-year was down from 9.9% for the same timeframe one year ago. Ten organizations have collectively retained more than 60% market share for the last year and a half. Currently, UnitedHealth Group and Humana together cover almost 30% of the MA market, up 0.8% from one year ago.

While Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) have lost MA market share since July 2006 they have gained 1.2 million new members, growing from 5.7 million members as of July 2006 to 6.9 million as of July 2009. In comparison, PFFS plans grew almost 1.7 million from a mere 764,000 to 2.4 million during the same time frame. Congress' decision to curtail growth in PFFS MA plans has been successful. Between July 2008 and July 2009, PFFS MA plans added 166,000 new members compared to 477,000 for HMOs and 428,000 in Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans for the same period.


In the latest Healthcare Business Strategy report, MFA reviewed enrollment for MA plans. Membership data was analyzed using CMS enrollment data available in Medicare Business Onlineâ„¢.

To read the full text of Medicare Advantage Plans Surpass 11 Million Mark, visit the Healthcare Business Strategy library on Mark Farrah Associates' website www.markfarrah.com.

About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA)

MFA is a leading data aggregator and publisher providing health plan market data and analysis tools for the healthcare industry. Committed to simplifying analysis of health insurance business, our products include Medicare Business Onlineâ„¢, the Health Coverage Portalâ„¢, Health Insurer Insightsâ„¢ and Health Plans USAâ„¢.



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Source: Mark Farrah Associates