Researchers’ Work from University of Minnesota Focuses on Managed Care (Medicare Advantage Has Lower Resource Use and Better Quality of Care than Traditional Medicare): Managed Care

2025 OCT 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Current study results on Managed Care have been published. According to news originating from Minneapolis, Minnesota, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Medicare Advantage (MA) is a private alternative to publicly administered Traditional Medicare ™. Whether private MA firms deliver Medicare services more efficiently than public TM coverage has long been an important inquiry.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Minnesota, “We use newly available national MA encounter data to compare resource use and quality of care between MA and TM. We find that adjusted total resource use is $206-$284 (12.8-17.5%) per beneficiary per month lower in MA than in TM between 2016 and 2019. The estimates vary depending on how we account for differences in coding intensity and patient characteristics between MA and TM. Quality of care, measured by adverse health events and care process indicators, is better in MA than TM. Resource use reduction and quality improvement are larger among higher-risk MA patients. Resource use reduction and quality improvement also differ by MA plan type and star ratings.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “MA’s advantage over TM in reducing resource use decreased modestly between 2016 and 2019, and MA’s advantage in improving quality of care decreased for one measure.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Medicare Advantage Has Lower Resource Use and Better Quality of Care than Traditional Medicare. American Journal of Health Economics, 2025. American Journal of Health Economics can be contacted at: Univ Chicago Press, 1427 E 60TH St, Chicago, IL 60637-2954, USA.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Caroline Carlin, Dept. of Family Medicine and Community Health, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States. Additional authors for this research include Jeah Jung and Roger Feldman.

The publisher’s contact information for the American Journal of Health Economics is: Univ Chicago Press, 1427 E 60TH St, Chicago, IL 60637-2954, USA.

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