Hi, in the US, we call it "Medicare minus Choice. Barbara Krimgold
-----Original Message-----
From: Mcdaid,D
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 02-9-30 6:23
Subject: FW: Three New Reports on Medicare+Choice
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Subject: Three New Reports on Medicare+Choice
Dear Colleague,
Despite its early promise, the Medicare+Choice program has a troubled
recent history. The number of Medicare+Choice contracts that Medicare
holds with private health plans dropped by more than half from 1998 to
2002, with plan withdrawals affecting more than 2.2 million
beneficiaries. In addition, the program has failed to restrain federal
spending on Medicare. Three new reports from The Commonwealth Fund shed
new light on the difficulties the program faces.
Medicare+Choice After Five Years: Lessons for Medicare's Future-Findings
from Seven Major Cities, by Brian Biles, Geraldine Dallek, and Andrew
Dennington of the Center for Health Services Research and Policy at
George Washington University Medical Center, examines the reasons behind
the widespread dissatisfaction of private health plans, health care
providers, and beneficiaries with the Medicare+Choice program. The
authors attempt not only to understand how the program could be
stabilized but to help inform policy discussions concerning broader
Medicare reform.
Geographic Inequity in Medicare+Choice Benefits-Findings from Seven
Communities, by Dallek, Dennington, and Biles, compares the 2002 benefit
packages of Medicare+Choice plans to assess the degree of regional
disparities in benefit packages. The authors find wide variations in
out-of-pocket costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees depending on where
beneficiaries live.
Medicare+Choice in New York City: So Far, So Good?, by Jennifer Stuber,
Andrew Dennington, and Brian Biles, looks at why the Medicare+Choice
program-faltering in many regions-has thus far enjoyed relative
stability in New York City. However, according to the report there are
signs that these conditions may soon change.
Click here to read, download, or order the reports.
( <http://www.cmwf.org/publist/publist2.asp?CategoryID=9>
http://www.cmwf.org/publist/publist2.asp?CategoryID=9)
Visit the Fund's website (http://www.cmwf.org/) to read, download, or
order reports from The Commonwealth Fund. You can also order reports by
calling toll-free 1-888-777-2744 or by sending an e-mail to
[log in to unmask]
|