Informing the Future of Medicare Advantage Policy

This project will: 1) assess competition among Medicare Advantage (MA) plans within counties and the relationship with enrollment and 2) evaluate whether provider networks are meeting beneficiaries’ preferences. Investigators will examine competition at the county level, assessing variation across plan types and in benefits offered. The team also will assess competition across Special Needs Plans, which serve beneficiaries with low incomes or high medical needs, and examine enrollees in Medicare cost plans, which allow beneficiaries to use traditional Medicare benefits when they see providers out of network. For this latter analysis, the team will evaluate the circumstances in which beneficiaries used these benefits, analyzing the type of providers, nature of care, and proportion of spending and utilization.