The American journal of managed care
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To characterize the proportion of Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees who switched insurers or disenrolled to traditional Medicare (TM) in the years immediately after first choosing to join an MA health plan. ⋯ New MA enrollees change insurers at a substantial rate when followed across multiple years. These changes may disincentivize insurers from investing in preventive care and chronic disease management and, as shown in several non-MA populations, may lead to discontinuities in care, increased expenditures, and inferior health outcomes.
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To characterize the (1) distribution of outpatient care for dual-eligible Medicare beneficiaries ("duals") and (2) intensity of outpatient care utilization of duals vs non-dual-eligible beneficiaries ("nonduals"). ⋯ Outpatient care for duals was concentrated among a small number of practices. Despite having more chronic conditions, duals had fewer outpatient visits. Duals and the practices that serve them may benefit from targeted policies to promote access and improve outcomes.