Medicare Prescription Drug Plans See Revitalization

KENNEBUNK, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Demographic changes and industry consolidation are two trends contributing to the revitalization of the Medicare Part D marketplace, according to a new report by Mark Farrah Associates (MFA). Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs), gained nearly 886,000 covered lives between August 2010 and August 2011, a 5.0% increase year-over-year. According to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), PDPs covered more than 18.7 million people as of August 2011, about 39% of the 48.3 million people currently eligible for Medicare.

Consolidation, particularly among the top Part D insurers, continues to rock the PDP landscape. There are 66 organizations competing in the PDP market as of August 2011, down from 90 in 2006. The top eleven PDP organizations are responsible for 87% of the market.

Only four companies remain with more than 1 million PDP members following CVS Caremark’s acquisition of Universal American’s PDP business. According to MFA’s analysis, HealthSpring’s acquisition of Bravo Health nearly doubled HealthSpring’s PDP enrollment and placed it among the top PDP carriers in the country. If the proposed Express Scripts’ acquisition of Medco Health Solutions is approved, it would add a fifth organization to those with more than 1 million PDP members. WellCare should also grow to 1 million PDP members as of January 2012.

In the latest Healthcare Business Strategy report, MFA aggregated and analyzed enrollment data for all PDPs nationwide. To read the full text of “Medicare Prescription Drug Plans See Revitalization,” visit the Healthcare Business Strategy library on Mark Farrah Associates’ website www.markfarrah.com.

MFA recently added new tools to its Medicare Business Online™ product that enable historic trending of the Medicare eligible population and current penetration rates by state and county for both Medicare Part C and D products, as well as 60+ population projections through 2030 on a state level for each year of age and by age brackets. 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 Online™, Medicare Benefits Analyzer™, Health Coverage Portal™, Health Insurer Insights™, Health Plans USA™ and the new County Health Coverage™, which offers population and health plan enrollment data by county nationwide.



CONTACT:

Mark Farrah Associates
Debra Donahue, 207-985-8484

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Maine

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Seniors  Health  Pharmaceutical  Professional Services  Insurance  Consumer  Managed Care

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