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Medicare Part D Enrollment & Availability

Medicare Part D Enrollment

Enrollment in Medicare stand-alone prescription drug plans has changed relatively little since 2015.

  • Between 2010 and 2015, enrollment in Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans increased nearly 32 percent, from 17.7 million to 24.0 million Medicare beneficiaries.
  • Between 2016 and 2020, the number of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a PDP was relatively steady, although the percentage of all beneficiaries enrolled in PDPs declined from 45 percent to 37 percent.
  • Recent trends in PDP enrollment may partly reflect beneficiaries switching to Medicare Advantage plans that offer a Part D benefit (MA-PD).

Source: CMS PDP State/County Penetration File, March 2020.

Note: Enrollment estimates do not include records denoted as pending state or county designation. This file contains data for the following organization types (where there are active contracts): PDP; employer/union-only direct-contract PDP.

Medicare Part D Enrollment

Enrollment in Medicare stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) is highest in rural states with low Medicare Advantage enrollment rates.

  • National % enrolled in PDP Plan: 37%. National PDP enrollment: Approx. 25.2 million
  • Overall, more than 25 million beneficiaries, or 37 percent, are enrolled in a PDP in 2020.
  • Across the U.S., rates of enrollment in PDPs varies twofold. PDP enrollment ranges from less than 30 percent in Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, and Oregon to a high of approximately 60 percent in states that are rural and/or have low Medicare Advantage enrollment, including Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.

Medicare Part D Enrollment

Across counties, enrollment in stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) ranges from less than 1 percent to 78 percent of Medicare beneficiaries.

  • Across the U.S., county rates of enrollment in stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) varies substantially, from a high of almost 78 percent in Dubuque County, Iowa, to a low of nearly 16 percent in Osceola County, Fla.
  • A total of 28 counties have PDP enrollment rates greater than 70 percent.
  • Twelve of these counties are located in two states, Kansas (six counties) and North Dakota (six counties)
  • Five counties are located in Nebraska
  • Four counties with high PDP enrollment rates are in Iowa, and another four are in South Dakota.
  • Two counties with the highest PDP enrollment are in Colorado; one county is in western Maryland.
  • Several counties with high Medicare Advantage penetration rates have low rates of PDP enrollment: Miami-Dade, Fla.; Monroe, N.Y.; and El Paso, Texas. Each of these counties has PDP enrollment of approximately 17 percent.

Source: CMS PDP State/County Penetration File, March 2020. 

Note: Enrollment estimates do not include records denoted as pending state or county designation. 

Medicare Part D Availability

Many stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) are available to Medicare beneficiaries, with the average number of plans on the rise since 2017.

  • There has been substantial fluctuation in the average number of stand-along prescription drug plans (PDPs) available to Medicare beneficiaries over the past decade:
  • Since 2017, PDP availability has been on the rise. In the five years between 2017 and 2021, the average number of PDPs available increased by 50 percent, from 20 to 30 plans.
  • Between 2010 and 2013, the average number of PDPs available fell from 47 to 26 plans, and, following an increase in plan availability in 2014, the number fell from an average of 33 plans to 24 plans between 2014 and 2016.
  • Since 2010, the average number of stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) available to Medicare beneficiaries has decreased from 47 plans to 30 plans in 2021, a reduction of about 36 percent.

Source: CMS State/County Penetration, and PDP Landscape Source Files, 2010–2021.

Note: Data represent the average number of plans operating in counties across the U.S., weighted by the number of Medicare beneficiaries in each year. (Data for 2021 are weighted by September 2020 beneficiaries.) Employer-sponsored plans and plans under sanction are excluded. Estimates do not include records denoted as pending state or county designation.

Medicare Part D Benefits

Average premiums for stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDP) in 2021 are nearly 2.5 times those for Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PDs).

  • Approximately 91 percent of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans offer prescription drug (Part D) benefits in 2021.
  • In 2021, average monthly premiums for stand-alone prescription drug plans ($41) are about 2.6 times higher than average premiums for the prescription drug component of MA plans ($17).
  • Average premiums for enhanced plans are approximately $3 more per month than for basic PDPs ($43 vs. $40), a difference of about 8 percent.

Source: CMS Plan and Premium Information for Plans Offering Part D Coverage, 2021.

Notes: Amounts represent total Part D premiums, which are the sum of the Basic and Supplemental Premiums. Total premium may be lower than the sum of the basic and supplemental premiums because of negative basic or supplemental premiums. MA-PD average excludes employer-sponsored plans, Part B–only plans, demonstration, cost plans, and plans not offering Part D benefits.

Medicare Part D Benefits

During the past decade, premiums for Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans declined modestly.

  • Despite slight annual fluctuation, Part D stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) premiums remained relatively unchanged over the past decade, with plan premiums averaging $38 in 2011 and 2020.
  • Average PDP premiums fell by about $3 from 2019 to 2020, a difference of less than 8 percent.

Source: CMS Plan and Premium Information for Plans Offering Part D Coverage, 2011–2020.

Notes: Data represent average plan premiums weighted by plan enrollment and are not adjusted for inflation. Amounts represent total Part D premiums, which are the sum of the basic and supplemental premiums. Total premium may be lower than the sum of the basic and supplemental premiums because of negative basic or supplemental premiums. Employer-sponsored plans and plans under sanction are excluded.

Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy

The number of Medicare Advantage enrollees receiving a low income subsidy (LIS) tripled in the past decade.

  • The Medicare low income subsidy (LIS) program provides financial assistance to Medicare beneficiaries with low income for out-of-pocket costs associated with prescription drugs, like deductibles and premiums.
  • In 2020, nearly 13 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in either a Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plan or a stand-alone PDP receive an LIS, an increase of nearly 30 percent from 2010.

MA-PD = Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan; PDP = Stand-alone prescription drug plan.

Source: CMS Low Income Subsidy Enrollment by Plan, 2010-2020.

Note: Enrollment estimates do not include plan records suppressed because of a value of 10 or less. Only includes Medicare Advantage plans with Part D coverage.

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