The price tags on Medicare Advantage plans are growing further apart from their basic Medicare counterparts.
In 2019, the average Medicare Advantage enrollee cost Medicare $321, totaling $7 billion in additional spending, according to an Aug. 17 Kaiser Family Foundation study.
The study noted that the differences between plan spending occurred when the Affordable Care Act should have reduced plan payments.
Between 2021 and 2029, the researchers anticipate federal Medicare Advantage spending will nearly double, rising from $348 billion to $664 billion. Accounting for $108 billion in inflation, the more accurate $208 billion increase half accounts for enrollment growth and half accounts for growing payments per person.
This growth is expected to far outpace spending growth seen by traditional Medicare enrollees, according to the study.