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Impact of Medicare Advantage Plan Concentration on Choices and Competition in Rural Areas
This project explores the availability and enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans in rural areas, as compared to urban areas, in the U.S. and explores whether the concentration of enrollment in a few plans, especially in rural areas, has implications for plan generosity and costs. Using measures of the concentration of plans from the economics literature, this project will explore the hypothesis that higher degrees of market concentration leads to less effective choice of plans, more market power, and less generous plans, and that this is more likely to occur in rural areas than in urban areas. This analysis will be completed using a set of data bases constructed by the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis for the purpose of analyzing Medicare. A set of papers and policy briefs will be prepared, describing not only the enrollment in rural areas in MA plans, but the results of the analysis described here.
Publications
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Rural Enrollment in Medicare Advantage Continues to Grow Rapidly in 2008, Led by Private Fee-for-Service Plans
Author(s): Yolonda Y. Campbell, Timothy D. McBride, and Keith Mueller
Report Number: Brief No. 2008-3
Date: 08 / 2008
Enrollment of rural beneficiaries into Medicare Advantage (MA) plans has more than quadrupled since the inception of the MA program at the beginning of 2006 and increased 35% in the last year. However, as a percent of all beneficiaries, the enrollment rate in rural areas remains well below the
national enrollment rate. The tremendous growth in rural MA plans over the past two and a half years is mostly attributed to the spread of private fee-for-service plans across the country, which now account for 58% of rural Medicare eligibles. This policy brief provides findings about enrollment in the MA program in rural areas and across the United States and updates findings from analysis of the MA program presented in previous RUPRI Center policy briefs.
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State Updates on Medicare Advantage Enrollment
Date: 12 / 2007
Contains reports for each state with the number of persons enrolled in Medicare Advantage and prepaid plans in December 2005 and September 2007 in rural and urban areas.
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Update on Rural Enrollment in Medicare Advantage: Growth Continues
Author(s): Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Report Number: Rural Policy Brief No. 2007-7
Date: 10 / 2007
Provides findings about rural enrollment in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program and other pre-paid plans, with state and national data. Updates early findings from analysis of the Medicare+Choice/MA program presented in previous RUPRI Center policy briefs. Detailed data about MA enrollment and plans are available at:
http://www.unmc.edu/ruprihealth/Pubs/PB2007-7%20Tables%20110507.pdf.
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