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From 2009 to 2018, registration in the Medicare Advantage program grew rapidly, with the largest boosts concentrated amongst minority populations, according to a new research study released in Health Affairs.
In 2009, 23% of Black Medicare recipients remained in a Medicare Advantage strategy, as compared to 38% in 2018– representing a 66% relative boost. The percentage of Hispanic recipients in those plans jumped from 33% to 48% in the exact same decade, a 43% relative boost.
In addition, the percentage of dual enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans increased from 18% in 2009 to 37% in 2018, a 101% relative increase. Dual enrollees are beneficiaries who are registered in both Medicare and Medicaid strategies.
Comparatively, there was a 46% spike amongst White beneficiaries in a Medicare Advantage strategy within the very same decade, and a 43% boost amongst non-dual enrollees. [Click image to expand]
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The studys authors examined enrollment and market information included in the Medicare Master Beneficiary Summary File 2009-18. For information on Medicare Advantage plan characteristics, consisting of Special Needs Plan type, premiums and star scores, scientists used openly reported data from the Centers for Medicare & & Medicaid Services.
While the research study was not commissioned, it was funded by the National Institute on Aging.
Together with the development in minority enrollment, the study found that minority beneficiaries were focused in specific strategies, stated David J. Meyers, assistant professor at the Brown University School of Public Health, in an email.
This also proved to be the most surprising finding for study authors.
” While we expected there to be some variation, we were surprised at just how much minority beneficiaries tended to enlist in specific plans,” Meyers said. “Asian and hispanic recipients in specific tended to enroll in plans with really high concentrations of other Hispanic and Asian beneficiaries, respectively.”.
Further, Meyers and his coworkers discovered that minority populations were most likely to enroll in plans of lower quality. About 70% of White beneficiaries remained in strategies rated with 4 or 5 stars compared with around 55% of Black, 60% of Hispanic, 42% of Asian and 54% of Native American/American Indian enrollees.
In general, the research study shows “high and growing enrollment of Hispanic and black enrollees in Medicare Advantage,” study authors wrote. If existing patterns continue, most of Black, Hispanic and dual enrollee Medicare recipients will remain in a Medicare Advantage plan within the next five years.
For payers, the key takeaway from this study is that the high rates of minority registration indicate they will need to play an important function in attending to health inequities, Meyers said.
” As this enrollment continues, it will be very important for payers to guarantee they are supplying top quality care and conference each of their beneficiaries distinct needs,” he stated.
Image: shapecharge, Getty Images, Health Affairs