Analysis Of Medicare Advantage HMOs compared with traditional Medicare shows lower use of many services during 2003-09.

ABSTRACT: Enrollment in Medicare Advantage, the managed care program for Medicare beneficiaries, has grown rapidly, from 4.6 million enrollees in 2003 to 12.8 million by 2012, or 27 percent of all current Medicare beneficiaries. We analyzed utilization patterns of enrollees in Medicare Advantage health maintenance organization (HMO) plans compared to matched samples of people in traditional Medicare during 2003-09, to ascertain whether the HMO enrollees demonstrated different levels of use of services, which can be a hallmark of more integrated care. We found that utilization rates in some major categories, including emergency departments and ambulatory surgery or procedures, generally were 20-30 percent lower in Medicare Advantage HMOs in all years. Medicare Advantage HMO enrollees initially had lo

SUBMITTER: Landon BE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3587962 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature