Average annual beneficiary health care costs for various Medicare coverage options 2021

UnitedHealth Group (UHG) commissioned Milliman to compare the beneficiary costs of the Medicare Advantage (MA) program relative to other public and private health insurance options available to Medicare-eligible seniors. This report is an update to our 2019 analysis. The analysis considers average annual health care costs borne by a Medicare eligible beneficiary of average age and health status, not eligible to receive income-based assistance, and eligible for the program due to age rather than disability. For 2020, we estimate that such a beneficiary will incur approximately $1,803 less in health care costs annually under MA than traditional Medicare fee-for-service (FFS), and about $2,434 less than under the most popular Medigap plan option currently available to new enrollees, Plan G. The report also details our analysis by state for each of the enrollment options discussed above, for an average Medicare beneficiary.

This report was originally commissioned by UnitedHealth Group (UHG).