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.
About 19 million people enrolled when Medicare first started. By 2020, that number grew to nearly 63 million. To his day, individuals continue to enroll in Medicare during Initial Enrollment, Annual Enrollment, Open Enrollment, or Special Enrollment Periods, at which point, they are given a Medicare Number.
Overall, how many people per state enroll in Medicare? And what types of Medicare options are available?
How many people are enrolled in 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 members exceed four million.
Of course, California holding the title of most populous state translates to a higher Medicare population. Nonetheless, nearly 16% of its massive population of 39.5 million has Medicare, totaling about 6.3 million individuals.
With Texas as the second most populous U.S. state, as of 2019, roughly 14% of Texas’ population has Medicare. By comparison, the state of Maine has over 25% 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 recordsincreasedMedicare health plan enrollments, such as Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C.
Whereas in 2014, Medicare Advantage had about 16.2 million subscribers, by 2019 that number rose to nearly 23 million.
As a whole, Medicare appears to be growing as the competition for benefits progresses.
Number of people enrolled in each type of Medicare health plan
Counting Medicare enrollees 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.
As a means of getting benefits that can exceed 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) – 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
