Medicare Advantage Plan Characteristics Predict Quality of Care

Medicare recipients can select from traditional fee-for-service programs or managed care plans (Medicare Advantage). Since 2008, Medicare has rated Medicare Advantage plans based on 36 indicators, which include processes of care, health outcomes, access to care, and patient satisfaction. The rating range is 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) and is applied at the contract level (a contract can include 1 or more plans). Using three different datasets from 2010, investigators evaluated the association between Medicare Advantage contract characteristics (profit status, maturity, and size) and quality of care (as measured by ratings).

Eleven million beneficiaries were covered by 409 contracts; mean rating was 3.32, and 75% of contracts were provided by f…