Medicare Advantage in Howard County, Maryland
11,525 people in Howard County, Maryland were enrolled in Medicare Advantage in October 2026, 19.3% of 59,684 eligible beneficiaries (−1.1 pts since October 2025). CareFirst, Inc. is the largest parent organization with 24% of reported enrollment; 10 parent organizations have 11 or more members and the HHI is 1,773 (moderately concentrated). HRSA classifies the county as partly rural. For 2027, 1,051 members here are in plans that terminate or leave the county. MA plans offered go from 20 to 18.
Parent organizations in Howard County
| Parent organization | Members | Change since October 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| CareFirst, Inc. | 2,734 | +1,660 | 24.0% |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. | 2,706 | +209 | 23.7% |
| Johns Hopkins Healthcare LLC | 1,767 | +343 | 15.5% |
| CVS Health Corporation | 1,613 | −957 | 14.1% |
| Humana Inc. | 1,127 | +587 | 9.9% |
| UnitedHealth Group, Inc. | 1,103 | −2,153 | 9.7% |
| LifeBridge Health, Inc. | 295 | +179 | 2.6% |
| Elevance Health, Inc. | 28 | +1 | 0.2% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Ins. Co. | 25 | −3 | 0.2% |
| Highmark Health | 14 | −2 | 0.1% |
CMS suppresses county and contract counts of 10 or fewer; shares are of reported enrollment.
Value-based care alongside MA
In PY 2024, 8,120 beneficiaries in Howard County were assigned to 145 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs, 25.6% of assignable Original Medicare beneficiaries. Together, roughly 40% of all Medicare beneficiaries in the county are in Medicare Advantage or an MSSP ACO. See the ACOs in the MSSP Explorer.