Report: Medicare Advantage Members Spend Less on Health Care Than Other Seniors

Seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage spend thousands less on annual health care costs than their fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare counterparts — and the spending gap is growing.

That’s according to a new report from ATI Advisory commissioned by the Better Medicare Alliance (BMA), a research and lobbying organization that advocates for MA. Researchers analyzed 2019 to 2021 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and Cost Supplement files from CMS and found that MA members were less likely to experience health-related cost burdens and spent less on health care out of pocket. That’s despite the fact that MA beneficiaries are more likely to have lower incomes than their FFS counterparts. In 2021, more than half (52%) of MA members had incomes below 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL) vs. 33% of FFS beneficiaries.