In a stunning new report, PNHP (Physicians for a National Health Program) reveals that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans fail to deliver on their promises of equity for seniors of color.

According to the report, seniors of color continue to face all the disparities in health care that characterize the US health care system. the disparities MA plans still impose on seniors of color.

"The Medicare Advantage ('MA') program, through which health insurance corporations contract with the federal government to deliver Medicare benefits, offers enrollees few upfront costs, an out-of-pocket maximum, extra benefits, and a simple enrollment process. However, these advertised benefits show themselves to be hollow when carefully studied, revealing a program that compromises access, equity, and quality of care. Evidence from an exhaustive literature review and new research reveals that MA enrollees often encounter steep barriers to the physicians and hospitals people with complex conditions need for medically necessary care.

"Contrary to claims from the insurance industry that MA is a solution to inequity, racial and ethnic minorities enrolled in MA continue to face many of the longstanding disparities that are common in American healthcare. The financial model of MA does little to mitigate existing inequities – and often exacerbates them by disproportionately offering communities of color inferior insurance products. At the same time, MA places a heavier burden on federal spending than Traditional Medicare (TM), which raises doubts about whether the program truly provides worthwhile returns for the people it is meant to serve."

This graph from the PNHP report shows that people of color are less likely than white patients to have their own primary careprovider (PCP), far less likely to be referred to a specialist when they are ill, and less likely to get flu or pneumonia vac- cines. The only area where patients of color are on par with white patients seems to be in referrals for colon cancerscreenings. See Johnston KJ, Hammond G, Meyers DJ, Joynt Maddox KE, Association of Race and Ethnicity and Medicare Program Type With Ambulatory Care Access and Quality Measures. August 17, 2021.

This graph shows that seniors of color enrolled in MA plans generally experience less favorable health outcomes than whiteseniors enrolled in similar MA plans.

Click here to read the entire PNHP report: Medicare Advantage Equity Repo