Mark Farrah develops new database tool for comparative analysis of Medicare Advantage and PDP benefit packages

In a recent customer update, Mark Farrah Associates confirmed that Medicare Advantage membership continues to climb, prior to the 2010 open enrollment season. Medicare Advantage enrollment reached 11,211,066 members as of September 2009, an increase of 38,526 members over August 2009. Prescription Drug Plans increased enrollment by 23,426 members; total PDP enrollment was 17,530,462 as of September 2009. Mark Farrah Associates also released the Tennessee Medicare Market Overview, the latest in a series of state analysis briefs. Tennessee is a largely rural state, where more than half of the individuals eligible for Medicare live outside the four largest population centers. The state’s 23% Medicare Advantage penetration is higher than the average rate of 21% for the rest of the United States. Tennessee’s Medicare Advantage market is very competitive with the top three plans: Humana, HealthSpring and UnitedHealth commanding 30%, 24% and 20% market share, respectively. Other Medicare Advantage Market Overviews available through Medicare Business Online™ include AZ, CA, FL, GA, IL, KY, MI, MN, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX and WA.

Mark Farrah Associates’ new Medicare Benefits Analyzer product, developed in partnership with Strenuus, is a customer requested database tool for comprehensive, comparative analysis of Medicare plan benefits by geographic market. Now, in addition to detailed membership data, subscribers may review more than 60 plan design attributes for all Medicare Advantage plans nationwide. The product also includes benefit details for all stand-alone PDPs. With a user-friendly interface, the web database affords easy querying and comparative analysis of Medicare Advantage and PDP benefit packages. Subscriptions are offered for single state or 50-state access.