Rural Health Research Gateway

Changing the Medicare Program According to the Principles of Managed Competition

Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Research center: Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Phone: 402.559.5260
Lead researcher: Keith J. Mueller, PhD , 402.559.5260, kmueller@unmc.edu
Project completed:August 2003
Topic: Medicare

This project will examine underlying assumptions of the managed competition model as applied to the Medicare program. The model requires managing the problem of biased risk selection and creating price-elastic demand by not exceeding the lowest-cost plan s premium for the sponsor's contribution, standardizing the coverage contract, providing quality-related information to individuals, and keeping the choice of plans at the individual level. The analytical plan is to examine choices available in rural areas, potential definitions of rural market areas, and choices made by rural beneficiaries. This project provides a means to assess current competitive activities, define rural market areas, and understand what might influence rural beneficiaries' choices.


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