Creator: Patrick Connole
New Health Conditions Caused More MA Disenrollment - Study
A JAMA Health Forum report said when individuals developed new complex medical conditions, they were more likely to disenroll from MA plans and back to traditional Medicare.
A recent JAMA Health Forum report “Medicare Advantage Beneficiary Enrollment Decisions Following New Complex Conditions” found that when individuals developed new complex medical conditions, they were more likely to disenroll from Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and back to traditional Medicare (TM).
“In this cohort study of more than 1 million MA beneficiaries, development of new complex conditions was associated with increased disenrollment, particularly to traditional Medicare,” the report said. “Disenrollment increased with the number of new conditions and was higher in states with Medigap guaranteed issue and community rating protections.”
Disenrollment was particularly elevated in enrollees living in states with Medigap community rating and guaranteed issue protections, while disenrollment within MA was higher among beneficiaries enrolled in HMOs.
“State Medigap protections likely make switching to TM easier for those with the greatest levels of medical complexity enrolled in MA,” the study said.
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