Study Highlights Data Challenges in Evaluating Medicare Advantage Plan Use and Cost

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have grown significantly in market share, rising from 26% in 2010 to 54% in 2024, becoming the preferred option for most seniors. Despite this growth, MA plans impose higher costs on taxpayers compared to traditional Medicare, with transparency and data completeness posing ongoing challenges for researchers assessing plan efficacy. A recent editorial in JAMA Network Open by experts from Brown University and the Leonard Davis Institute (LDI) emphasizes the data limitations that hinder accurate comparisons between MA and traditional Medicare, particularly highlighting gaps in nursing home and home health service reporting.