Study: Few differences in enrollee satisfaction between Medicare programs

With demographics changing and the population aging, medical care is always on the minds of Americans. The question is where best to get medical attention. Medicare open enrollment is set to occur in October but for some private plans, like Medicare Advantage, are also a consideration.

A comparison on Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare plans by KFF shows some nuance in how people feel. For example, Medicare Advantage enrollees were more likely than those in traditional Medicare to report having a usual source of care. They were also more likely to receive preventive care services, such as annual wellness visits and routine check-ups, screenings, and flu or pneumococcal vaccines.

However, traditional Medicare outperformed Medicare Advantage on measures such as receiving care in the highest-rated hospitals for cancer care or in the highest-quality skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies.

Findings on prescription drug use varied depending on the measure of utilization and condition studied. Three studies found that among specific groups – people with a mental illness, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and high-need beneficiaries (each studied separately) – there were no differences in the use of prescription drugs between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare beneficiaries. Two of these studies found that the use of prescription drugs was higher for Medicare Advantage enrollees than traditional Medicare beneficiaries without diabetes and without Alzheimer’s disease.

Read more: Almost half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries use Medicare Advantage, analysis shows

Most studies found that utilization of home health services and post-acute skilled nursing or inpatient rehabilitation facility care was lower among Medicare Advantage enrollees than traditional Medicare beneficiaries, but were inconclusive as to whether that was associated with better or worse outcomes.

Interest in how well Medicare Advantage plans serve their growing and increasingly diverse enrollee population has never been higher, as Medicare Advantage, for the first time, is projected to enroll more than half of all eligible Medicare beneficiaries next year, making it the main way that Medicare beneficiaries get their coverage and care. In comparison, just over a decade ago in 2010, 25% of the eligible population was in a Medicare Advantage plan.