Table 2. Prevalence of Group Enrollment in Medicare+Choice (M+C) Contracts, by Geographic Region: 2001 and 2002.
- Prior to this data collection, CMS has not collected any information on group enrollment. Enrollment data has been collected at the contract level, but plan-level enrollment data has not been previously available.
- Seventy-three percent of the active M+C contracts have some group enrollment.
- The level of group enrollment varies considerably among these insurers, ranging from less than 1 percent to more than 90 percent.
- In M+C plans that offer some group coverage, 20.4 percent of enrollees are enrolled through employer groups, compared with 20.6 percent in October 2001.
- The average group penetration represents an unweighted average of the levels of group penetration in each region per contract. Group penetration remained constant from 2001 to 2002.
| Geographic Region | Insurers with Group Enrollment | Level of Group Enrollment1 | Average Group Penetration Per Contract1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
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| 2001 | 2002 | 2001 | 2002 | ||
|
| |||||
| Percent | |||||
| All Regions | 73.4 | 20.6 | 20.4 | 18.0 | 17.0 |
| New England | 100.0 | 19.5 | 17.8 | 24.9 | 19.8 |
| Middle Atlantic | 80.8 | 24.6 | 24.5 | 20.8 | 20.3 |
| South Atlantic2 | 55.0 | 9.7 | 9.4 | 17.8 | 17.0 |
| East South Central | 87.5 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 9.1 | 9.2 |
| West South Central | 66.7 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 7.5 | 6.0 |
| East North Central | 78.9 | 14.9 | 13.1 | 20.5 | 18.7 |
| West North Central | 81.8 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 15.4 | 15.3 |
| Mountain | 73.3 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 11.5 | 11.0 |
| Pacific3 | 88.2 | 34.1 | 34.2 | 24.0 | 23.8 |
| Southern California | 62.5 | 24.7 | 24.3 | 22.9 | 20.4 |
| Miami | 27.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 3.4 |
1
These calculations include only those contracts that offer group plans.
2
South Atlantic is exclusive of Miami.
3
Pacific is exclusive of southern California.
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): Data from a survey of 144 Medicare+Choice insurers, 2002.