According to Statista, Medicare is a social insurance program in the United States introduced in 1965. It has four parts, which encompasses the benefits that 65 years old citizens in the US could avail of. Though not limited in income status, as opposed to Medicaid, benefits include hospital insurance for Part A including hospital stay, care in nursing facility, hospice care, and home care. Part B is centered on Medical Insurance which include preventive care, outpatient care, medical supplies, and doctor’s services. Part D is focused on prescription drug services, like OTC medicines, and other types of vaccines. Meanwhile, Part C is Medicare Advantage where beneficiaries could enroll in private companies.
Medicare Beneficiaries Statistics
Medicare.gov highlights that more than 66 million Americans are beneficiaries of Medicare. Based on CMS records, below is the penetration range for Medicare Advantage (Part C) enrollment as of February 2026.
What the data suggests is that there are states with a high percentage of penetration rates due to several factors like policy climate, provider networks, demographic factors, and access to Medicare. The penetration rate per state is calculated so that the enrolled individuals are divided by eligible individuals and then divided by 100.
Medicare Coverage Statistics from 1994-2024
In a 20-year data, as per Statista, the trend towards Medicare coverage is increasing. From 13% covered in 1994, it rose to 19% coverage in 2024.
The US government has spent 368 billion in 2022 for Medicare; meanwhile it is projected to increase allocation and spending to as much as 730 billion in 2032. In 2025, 38% of people in the United States have public healthcare insurance; the rest either do not have healthcare, or have paid premiums for private healthcare providers.
Physician Opt-Out Statistics
According to Forbes, a large population of physicians are connected with the Medicare system. Only less than 2% in the specialties of psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, and geriatrics, at 7.7% chose to opt-out of Medicare. The rest of specialties, as outlined below, have 4%-1% incidence of opt-out from Medicare.
This suggests that, a lot of physicians in the US are associated with Medicare; but only on a very specific group people which is 65 years old and above.
Medicare Advantage Plan Provider Statistics
In terms of picking up a Medicare Advantage Plan Provider, UnitedHealthcare takes about 29% of all Medicare advantage plan enrollment. This is followed by Humana at 18%, and BCBS at 14%.
Next Steps
Because employees in the US can receive pension from the Social Security System at 62 years old, many retire and with it, the end of healthcare from one’s employer. Medicare fills this gap. If you are someone who is looking to sign up for Medicare, this link by Medicare.gov is what you need.
References:
Hall, A. (2025). Medicare Statistics and Facts. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/health-insurance/medicare/medicare-statistics/
Medicare.gov. https://www.medicare.gov/about-us
Medical Enrollment Dashboard. Data.CMS.gov. https://data.cms.gov/tools/medicare-enrollment-dashboard
Minhas, A. (2026). Percentage of people covered by Medicare in the United States from 1990 to 2024. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/200962/percentage-of-americans-covered-by-medicare/
