Study Observes Higher MA-to-FFS Switching Among Nonwhite, Disabled Enrollees

May 21

Previous research has suggested that disabled adults who rely on services such as home health and nursing home care are more likely to switch from Medicare Advantage to traditional, fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare. Now, a new study appearing in Health Affairs confirms researchers’ assumptions that such switching is more prevalent among MA beneficiaries who are nonwhite and/or from vulnerable sociodemographic groups.

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and the University of California San Francisco examined five years of data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, a longitudinal, nationally representative survey of aging, to assess switching between MA and traditional Medicare 12 months before and after the onset of a disability. The study asked respondents to identify the specific month when they began requiring help with activities of daily living, and includes characteristics such as age, race, region and marital status.

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Radar on Medicare Advantage

Lauren Flynn Kelly Managing Editor, Radar on Medicare Advantage

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.