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? 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.
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.
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.
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