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How Many People Are Enrolled in Medicare by State?

How many people are enrolled in Medicare by State?

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With the aim of helping older Americans buy health insurance, Medicare became part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” vision created in 1965. Whether you live in a red state or a blue state, every eligible American now have recourse when it comes to paying for healthcare.

Although Medicare eligibility has nothing to do with income levels and only a little to do with work history, it can provide healthcare both for Americans with disabilities as well as people age 65 or older.

So, just about how many people are on Medicare? About 19 million people enrolled when Medicare first started. By 2020, that number grew to nearly 63 million Medicare beneficiaries. To this day, Medicare beneficiaries continue to enroll in Medicare during Initial Enrollment, Annual Enrollment, Open Enrollment, or Special Enrollment Periods, at which point, each enrollee is given a Medicare Number.

Overall, how many people per state enroll in Medicare? And what types of Medicare options are available? Just what is the number of people on Medicare by state?

How many people are enrolled in Medicare by State?

How many people are enrolled in Medicare by state? What is the number of people on Medicare by state?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, California and Florida attract more seniors than any other state in the U.S.

Overall, California, Florida and Texas have the highest number of people enrolled in Medicare. They are the only three states whose Medicare beneficiaries exceed four million.

Of course, California holding the title of most populous state translates to a higher Medicare beneficiary population. Nonetheless, nearly 16 percent of its massive population of 39.5 million count themselves as a Medicare beneficiary, totaling about 6.3 million individuals.

With Texas as the second most populous U.S. state, as of 2019, roughly 14 percent of Texas’ population is a Medicare beneficiary. By comparison, the state of Maine has over 25 percent of its population on Medicare.

Contrastingly, the District of Columbia, North Dakota, and Wyoming had the lowest number of people enrolled in Medicare.

Overall, the District of Columbia had the smallest amount, with its numbers in the 90,000s for people enrolled in Medicare. Meanwhile, Alaska, Wyoming and North Dakota’s numbers were in the 100,000s.

Between 2014 and 2019, the total number of people enrolled in any Medicare program increased by over two and a half percent each year.

With that said, CMS also records increased Medicare health plan enrollments, such as Medicare Advantage enrollment, also known as Medicare Part C.

Whereas in 2014, Medicare Advantage had about 16.2 million Medicare beneficiaries, by 2019 that number rose to nearly 23 million.

As a whole, Medicare appears to be growing as the competition for benefits progresses. In turn, access to highly lucrative benefits, such as Medicare-covered transportation services and the $900 grocery benefit, are becoming more widely available in certain areas now that the pressure is on for Medicare providers to stay competitive.

Four Parts of Medicare

How many people are enrolled in Medicare by State?

As often as monthly, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services keep tabs on trends in the Medicare population by:

  • How many people have Traditional Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B) by state
  • Number of people enrolled in each type of Medicare health plan
  • Counting each Medicare enrollee per year and per month

Generally meant by the term Medicare health plan are Medicare-approved health insurance products that works in addition to having Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B)

  • Medicare Part A serves as hospital insurance, and covers basic in-hospital needs and well as hospice care.
  • Medicare Part B serves as medical insurance, and mainly covers doctor’s visits, but not necessarily coinsurance fees or copayments.

As a means of getting benefits that can exceed Traditional Medicare, you can choose from Medicare health plans:

  • Medicare Advantage (Part C) – Private companies enter contracts with Medicare to offer Part A and Part B benefits, and often more.
  • Prescription Drug Coverage (Part D Coverage) – These policies add prescription drug coverage to Original Medicare, also offered by Medicare-approved private companies. Medicare Advantage plans may also include built-in prescription drug coverage.
  • Medicare Supplement (Medigap) –  Supplements help pay expenses for hospital and medical services left by Original Medicare, with each Medigap plan standardized to cover specific expenses like deductibles, co-pays, and co-insurance.
How many people are enrolled in Medicare by State?

Complete List of Medicare Enrollments by State

In order to see a complete list of Medicare populations by state, visit the website of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services organizes each table using specific factors tallied over previous five years. Click here for the full stats and sources for each category.

Overall, these factors of measuring the Medicare population include:

  • Total Medicare Enrollment
  • Original Medicare Enrollment
  • Medicare Advantage and Other Health Plan Enrollment
  • Medicare Newly Enrolled Beneficiaries
  • Deaths of Medicare Enrollees
  • Medicare-Medicaid Enrollment
  • Medicare Part D Enrollment

References:

  1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/lyndonbjohnson
  2. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2019cpsmdcrenrollab1.pdf
  3. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2019cpsmdcrenrollab2.pdf
  4. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2019cpsmdcrenrollab19.pdf
  5. https://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/decide-how-to-get-medicare/whats-medicare/what-is-medicare.html
  6. http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/117-medicare-statistics-to-know.html
  7. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/medicare-special-enrollment/
  8. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/does-my-elderly-parent-qualify-for-medicare-part-c/
  9. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/can-i-sign-up-for-medicare-part-a-only/
  10. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/how-to-apply-for-medicare-part-b-only/
  11. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/how-and-when-do-you-apply-for-medicare/
  12. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/how-do-you-get-your-medicare-number/
  13. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/can-i-apply-for-medicare-if-i-have-never-worked/
  14. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/lgbt-health-insurance/
  15. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/how-do-you-find-out-if-you-have-medicare/
  16. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/benefits-breakdown-what-is-the-900-medicare-grocery-benefit/
  17. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/what-are-medicare-providers/
  18. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/what-is-medicare-covered-employment/
  19. https://www.medicareinsurance.com/does-medicare-cover-transportation-services/

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