Consolidation among standalone prescription drug plans in Medicare Part D caused offerings to decline by 23% for 2022, a new analysis finds.
The analysis, released earlier this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation, explored the offerings for Part D as open enrollment started last month. But while Part D plan offerings declined, Medicare Advantage plans ballooned by more than double the number of plans available in 2017.
Kaiser’s analysis underscored the need for consumers to shop around, stating that “millions of Part D enrollees without low-income subsidies will face premium and other cost increases in 2022 if they stay in their current stand-alone drug plan,” the analysis said.
There are 766 standalone Part D plans available for consumers for the 2022 coverage year, a 23% decline from 2021.
Kaiser pinpointed the main reason as consolidations in the Part D space. It pointed to consolidations among plans sponsored by Centene and Cigna as key drivers in the decline. Cigna acquired Express Scripts, and Centene acquired WellCare.
The acquisitions caused the market exit of three national plans from each insurer in each region.
“This accounts for just over 200 [prescription drug plans] offered in 2021 that will no longer be offered in 2022,” the analysis said. “Enrollees in these consolidated plans will automatically switch to other plans offered by the same plan sponsor, although they can choose to switch into a different plan during the annual open enrollment period.”
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Even though there is a reduction in plans, beneficiaries will still have a range of options for 2022, Kaiser found. For instance, there are 19 drug plans offered in New York compared to 27 in Arizona and multiple MA Part D plans offered, too.
A separate analysis from Kaiser also found that while the number of Part D plans shrank for 2022, offerings in MA have soared.
In 2022, the average beneficiary has access to 39 MA plans, more than double the 19 that were available in 2017, Kaiser found. Of those 39 plans, 31 offer some type of prescription drug coverage.
Overall 3,834 MA plans will be available to seniors in 2022, an 8% increase from 2021 and the largest number of plans available in more than a decade, the analysis said.
“The growth in the number of plans varies across states and counties, with the preponderance of the growth occurring in Texas and Florida (41 more and 32 more plans, respectively),” Kaiser said. “Alaska has two plan offerings for the first time since 2010. Arkansas has 8 fewer plans available for 2022 than in 2021, while Kentucky has six fewer plans.”
Special needs plans also saw a dramatic bump in 2022, with 1,156 plans offered in 2022 compared with 975 in 2021. That is a major bump from the 545 offered in 2010.
Special needs plans for those with chronic conditions also increased from 122 plans in 2017 to 272 next year. Most of the plans focus on people with heart disease, lung conditions or diabetes.
The analysis underscores the popularity the MA market has gained for insurers. There were 20 insurers entering the market for the first time in 2022 and helped account for growth of nearly 20% in the number of plans available for general enrollment and 6% growth in the number of special needs plans.