Most Medicare Advantage Plans Offer Broad Primary Care Provider Networks

The Issue

More older Americans are enrolling in Medicare Advantage (MA) — the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare. In 2017, 33 percent of Medicare beneficiaries were in MA plans, up from 22 percent in 2008. With the growing popularity of these plans, it’s becoming increasingly important for policymakers to understand their benefits and costs, and the quality of care they deliver. Recently, some policymakers have raised concerns that the provider networks MA plans use are becoming more restrictive over time, making it harder for enrollees to get care when they need it. In an article for Health Affairs, Commonwealth Fund–supported researchers used Medicare Part D claims data from 2011 to 2015 to examine how MA primary...