title: Medicare's private plans: a report card on Medicare Advantage.
abstract: With higher payments and expanded private-plan authority, Medicare Advantage (MA) has caused the market to grow. One in three Medicare beneficiaries with Part D now gets this coverage through MA. Analysis of the sources of and reasons for enrollment growth suggest a troubling report card. Clearly, the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) has expanded choice and the private-sector role. But it also has added to Medicare's complexity and costs and has created potential inequities, without apparent improvements in quality. However the debate ends, a stronger system of performance monitoring and accountability is needed to meet Medicare's essential fiduciary requirements and oversight responsibilities.
authors.affiliation: Mathematica Policy Research Inc., Washington, DC, USA. mgold@mathematica-mpr.com
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gold
mesh_terms: D032982:Contracts; D019992:Databases as Topic; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D020398:Medicare Part C / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000458:organization & administration; D017149:Private Sector / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States