Little has been known about the impact of changes made to Medicare Advantage, Medicare's managed care plan, by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003. New data from a Commonwealth Fund issue brief show that, for certain seniors, Medicare Advantage is not a better deal than traditional, fee-for-service Medicare with Medigap supplemental coverage.
For more information, listen to a new Fund E-Forum of an Alliance for Health Reform briefing, "Medicare Advantage: Early Views and Trendspotting," held May 19, 2006. The forum includes synched slides and audio from the following presenters:
- Abby Block, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Brian Biles, George Washington University
- Karen Ignagni, America's Health Insurance Plans
- Marsha Gold, Mathematica Policy Research
- Stuart Guterman, The Commonwealth Fund, Moderator
- Ed Howard, Alliance for Health Reform, Moderator