Medicare Advantage (MA)

Completed Projects

Listed by project completion date. You can also view these projects alphabetically.

2024

• Medicare Advantage Plan Growth in Rural America: Opportunities for Beneficiaries?
  County Medicare Advantage enrollment data and plan characteristic data were used to create a model accounting for the availability of plans offering benefits addressing social determinants of health. Analyses compared rural and urban counties, and examined county characteristics to explore potential equitable opportunities for rural beneficiaries because of geography and other factors.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA), Medicare Part D, Social determinants of health, Telehealth, Transportation
  

2021

• The Availability of Optional Benefits in Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans in Rural and Urban Areas and the Implications for MA Payment Policy
  Enrollment and landscape files containing data regarding Medicare Advantage plan activities by county were used to describe the geographic differences in what is available to beneficiaries in benefit design and total out-of-pocket liability. Findings revealed potential for policy actions to address equity of benefits and cost to beneficiaries.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA), Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS)
  

2019

• Access to Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
  This project examined multiple dimensions of access to care, with a focus on rural Medicare beneficiaries, including rural-urban differences in access to care, and within-rural differences in access to care by region, coverage type (traditional fee-for-service vs. supplemental Medigap coverage), and socio-demographic characteristics.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Healthcare access, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  
• An Empirical Study of Health Insurance Firm Participation over Time in Rural Counties
  We examined changes in firm participation in multiple health insurance markets (FEHBP, MA, HIMs) over time in rural counties. We had hypothesized that participation would be related inversely to population density, because it becomes more difficult to spread risk, and network formation becomes more challenging when primary and specialty care becomes less available.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare Advantage (MA), Private health insurance
  
• Analysis of Trends in Characteristics of Rural Beneficiaries Enrolling in Medicare Advantage Plans
  This study compared characteristics of rural and urban beneficiaries enrolling in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, including their age, health status, income, and race/ethnicity. We analyzed the consequences of increasing use, promoted by policy choices, of a market-based approach in the Medicare program.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare Advantage (MA), Rural statistics and demographics
  

2016

• Trends in Medicare Advantage Quality and Enrollment: The Effects of Quality Based Payment Incentives on Rural People and Places
  This research will analyze the quality of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans offered to rural MA beneficiaries currently, in relation to urban beneficiaries, and how it has evolved over the past four years. In addition, the effect of quality-based payment incentives will be measured by: 1) changes that have been made to improve the quality of existing plans in rural areas or to encourage the entry of high quality plans into rural areas, and 2) the movement of plans' entry and exit into the MA market by plan type and rural/urban location.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  

2014

• Analysis of Medicare Advantage Quality in Rural Areas: Historically and Moving Forward
  This project examines the role that geography and demographics play in the success and quality of different types of MA plans in particular regions of the country.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  
• Effects of Changing Medicare Advantage Landscape on Rural Enrollees
  The goal of this project is to assess the impact of changes in Medicare payment policy on the availability of choices for rural Medicare beneficiaries. The objectives are quantify the impact of payment policy on the number of competing plans in strata of rural counties and the effects of using quality star ratings on choices in rural counties.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  

2013

• Has the Medicare Part D Program Improved Medication Access and the Health Status of Rural Beneficiaries?
  This project will use Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data to assess the impact of the Medicare Part D Program on medication access and the health status of rural Medicare beneficiaries.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Medicare Advantage (MA), Medicare Part D, Pharmacy and prescription drugs
  

2012

• Impact of Changing Medicare Advantage Landscape on Rural Enrollees
  This project will explore three important questions related to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. What is the impact of recent changes in the MA market on rural Medicare beneficiaries, providers and communities? In particular, how have recent changes in markets and payment policy led to changes in the choices of plans facing beneficiaries, and the quality of those plans (as defined by the coverage offered by the plans)? Finally, what is the likely impact of changes made in Medicare Advantage payment rates passed in the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) on rural enrollment in MA plans in 2011 and beyond?
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  
• Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in Rural Areas
  The rapid growth in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, as well as evidence that MA plans are being paid significantly more than traditional fee-for-service Medicare, has created the impetus for reform of the MA program, especially reductions in payment to MA plans. This project will continue the RUPRI Center's work in tracking and analyzing the trends in MA plan enrollment in rural areas, including changes in types of plans.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  

2008

• Impact of Medicare Advantage Plan Concentration on Choices and Competition in Rural Areas
  This project focuses on the analysis of Medicare Advantage (MA) plan choices for rural beneficiaries and what the concentration of plan choices in rural areas may mean in the context of how rural beneficiaries are making their choices. Using measures of concentration from the economics literature, this project will explore the relationship between market concentration in MA plans and the generosity of MA plans, and how it varies by the location of residence of Medicare beneficiaries.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  
• Medicare Modernization Act: Reality for Rural Beneficiaries and Providers
  This project will focus on two areas of new activity in Medicare beneficiary participation in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and prescription drug plans and implementation of the new Part D benefit through private health plans. We will describe enrollment into specific types of MA prescription drug plans and other prescription drug plans, and analyze differences across regions, states, and types of counties. We will also examine the impact of the transfer to Part D coverage on rural dual eligibles and their local pharmacies.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Medicare Advantage (MA), Medicare Part D