Individual Major Medical Use Dropped 10% in 2017: Mark Farrah

(Related: 5 States Where Individual Major Medical Enrollment Was Sad)

Analysts at Mark Farrah use a different source of data: the reports health insurers file with state insurance regulators and managed care plan regulators.

Unlike the CMS risk-adjustment data report, the Mark Farrah report includes data for people who still have "grandfathered" or "grandmothered" individual major medical coverage that has been in effect since before all ACA major medical market rules took effect. Many ACA benefits, plan design and underwriting rules took effect in January 2014.

The Mark Farrah analysts also found that:

• The total number of people with medical coverage administered by private organizations increased to 265.2 million, from 264.3 million.
• Employers' insured and self-insured plans provided coverage for about 67% of the people who had health coverage administered by private organizations in December 2017.
• Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans increased 12%, to 61 million, but stayed about the same for insured employer health plans, self-insured employer health plans and managed Medicaid plans.

— Read Individual Health Enrollment Drops 3% on ThinkAdvisor.

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