January 3, 2021 – In December 2020, Better Medicare Alliance’s (BMA) Center for Innovation in Medicare released a report, Positive Outcomes for High-Need, High-Cost Beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage Compared to Traditional Fee-For-Service Medicare. The study south to analyze if Medicare Advantage’s (MA) integrated care and care management lead to better results for beneficiaries most at risk of poor results. It examined the range of outcomes for high-need, high-cost beneficiaries under Medicare Advantage and compared those to those under Traditional Fee-For-Service (FFS) Medicare.

Among others, the study found that there were better outcomes in MA than FFS for all populations analyzed in 17 of 22 clinical quality of care measures. It also found similar positive results for utilization of care, quality of care, and costs of care, which suggests that MA care management programs help lead to a better quality of care and lower cost of care for at-risk beneficiaries.