Medicare Advantage Grows, but Provider Choice Is Limited

Medicare enrollees are moving in greater numbers than ever to the program’s managed care option as a way to save money. But the tradeoff is much less ability to use their preferred doctors and hospitals. Seniors can choose between traditional fee-for-service Medicare — which is accepted by most health care providers — or a Medicare Advantage plan. The latter encompasses health maintenance organizations (HMOs) or preferred provider organizations (PPOs), which control costs by creating health care provider networks that enrollees must use. In theory, prospective Advantage enrollees can review lists of in-network providers before opting into a plan. But a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) finds that provider data often is very difficult to review, can be out of date and frequently contain inaccurate information. KFF’s review also found shortcomings in the quality of providers in some Medicare Advantage provider networks. One out of every five plans did not include a regional academic medical center — institutions which usually offer the highest quality care and top specialists. And only 40 percent of Advantage provider networks included top-quality cancer centers, as indicated by membership in the National Cancer Institute’s network.

Source/more: Reuters
Read the KFF report.

David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills, Wills, Trusts, Medicaid and asset protection. The Elder Law office has locations in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland.