Experts: Medicare Advantage Plans Provide Better Care for Chronic Disease Patients

At a Capitol Hill briefing hosted by the Healthcare Leadership Council, congressional staffers heard from experts from the healthcare provider, plan and patient/consumer communities about the importance of the Medicare Advantage program in providing affordable, comprehensive, coordinated care to beneficiaries dealing with chronic illnesses.

The briefing featured experts from SCAN Health Plan, MemorialCare Health System and The Latino Coalition.

The information shared at the briefing included:

· Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has virtually tripled in the past decade.

· According to Dr. Romilla Batra of SCAN Health Plan, Medicare Advantage plans provide a level of care for special needs patients with chronic health conditions that conventional fee-for-service Medicare can’t match.

· Diane Laird of MemorialCare Health System said MemorialCare’s Medicare Advantage patients had experienced a 50 percent reduction in 30-day hospital readmission rates and, for high-acuity diabetes patients, a 40 percent reduction in microvascular complications.

· Ms. Laird also said proposed new budget cuts to Medicare Advantage could have a severe impact on patients and providers, noting that they would be layered on top of earlier cuts health systems are already absorbing.

The Healthcare Leadership Council is a member of the Better Medicare Alliance, which has extensive informational resources on Medicare Advantage and the issues affecting the program.