Or I might remark that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.".*

I imagine that I do not have to state the obvious: competition for a Medicare Advantage member is ferocious. It is certainly not “if you build it, they will come.” 

If you do not remember your competitive position for the last AEP you can reference the following DDG report, “The Growth of Medicare Advantage: National, State, County, Plan, and Provider Enrollment Data 2020 – 2021.”

Samantha Stevens, a member of our Data Science team, has prepared this helpful, data-rich visualization comparing CMS statistics for December 2020 MA enrollment through July 2021.

A few highlights that were relevant to me:

Enrolled Medicare Advantage Members

                                                            Dec 2020                     July 2021         Growth

United States                             25,395,721                  27,459,068      2,063,347

Texas                                                1,855,690                    2,030,203        174,513

-In Rockwall County, where I reside, MA enrollment grew by 11 percent compared to 9 percent for Texas overall.  

-Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company was the fastest growing provider in Rockwall while Health Care Service Corporation had the largest growth for the state.

If you do not have access internally to these CMS stats then simply click this link to watch a tutorial on how to run the report and download this free tool.   You’ll need the free Tableau Reader to use the report, which you can find here.

I assure you if I can run the report then anyone can take advantage of this knowledge. Don’t be doomed to repeat a performance that may be best forgotten—last year’s AEP outcome.

*George Santayana (1863-1952), Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1.