Beneficiary Experience, Affordability, Utilization, and Quality in Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare: A Review of the Literature

KFF September 16, 2022
Nancy Ochieng, Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek

The growing role of Medicare Advantage in the Medicare program and the changing demographics of Medicare Advantage enrollees have given rise to an interest in how well private plans serve their enrollees relative to traditional Medicare. To answer this question, we build on a previous review of research by examining 62 studies published since 2016 that compare Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare based on measures of beneficiary experience, affordability, service utilization, and quality.

We found few differences between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare that are supported by strong evidence or have been replicated across multiple studies. Both Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare beneficiaries reported similar rates of satisfaction with their care and overall measures of care coordination. Medicare Advantage outperformed...

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