title: Medicare Advantage in the era of health reform: progress in leveling the playing field.
abstract: Payments to private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have exceeded Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) costs since those payments were increased by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). Payments to MA plans in 2010 exceeded average costs in FFS Medicare nationally by 8.9 percent, a total of $8.9 billion. While these extra payments are substantial, they represent a decrease relative to 2009, when MA payments were 13.0 percent, or $11.4 billion, greater than FFS costs. The decrease in MA payments relative to FFS costs, while mostly resulting from policy decisions and other factors not directly related to the health reform law, begins to shift MA payments toward levels mandated in the provisions that are set to go into effect in 2012.
authors: Department of Health Policy, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University, USA. bbiles@gwu.edu
authors: Brian
authors: B
authors: Biles
authors: Grace
authors: G
authors: Arnold
authors: Stuart
authors: S
authors: Guterman
mesh_terms: D018588:Fee-for-Service Plans / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D020398:Medicare Part C / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017149:Private Sector / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States