Reports Outline Managed Care Findings from Brown University (Dialysis Facility Participation In Medicare Advantage Networks Was Highest For Large Dialysis Organizations In 2021): Managed Care

2026 MAR 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Managed Care is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Providence, Rhode Island, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “The share of patients with kidney failure enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) increased from 27 percent to 47 percent after the implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act, which expanded MA eligibility to all kidney failure patients. In this mixed-methods study, we examined the characteristics of dialysis facilities participating in MA contracts in 2021, and we supplemented the findings with data from qualitative interviews with representatives from MA plans and dialysis provider organizations.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Brown University, “In 2021, dialysis facilities contracted with approximately 60 percent of MA plans offered in their and neighboring counties. In adjusted analyses, facilities affiliated with the two large dialysis organizations had 33-40 percentage points higher participation in MA networks compared with independent, not-for-profit facilities. Interviews suggest that large dialysis organizations had a unique advantage in their negotiations with MA plans.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “It is important for policy makers to understand how MA enrollment growth among people with kidney failure may be accelerating consolidation in the dialysis market.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Dialysis Facility Participation In Medicare Advantage Networks Was Highest For Large Dialysis Organizations In 2021. Health Affairs, 2025;44(3):313-321.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Joan F. Brazier, Joan F. Brazier, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. Additional authors for this research include Eunhae Grace Oh, Emily A. Gadbois, Denise A. Tyler, Laura M. Keohane, David J. Meyers, Momotazur Rahman, Kevin H. Nguyen and Amal N. Trivedi.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)