RAND Corporation Study Reveals Lack of Consensus on Medicare Advantage Reforms Among Stakeholders
A recent study by the RAND Corporation, utilizing the Delphi method, surveyed 52 experts from various sectors including researchers, the Medicare Advantage (MA) industry, patient advocates, and policymakers regarding potential reforms to the Medicare Advantage program. The study aimed to identify policy proposals that would be broadly supported across these diverse groups. However, the findings indicated a significant lack of consensus, with no single policy idea among 14 proposals receiving unanimous support. Dmitry Khodyakov, a senior sociologist at RAND and co-author of the study, highlighted the inherent complexity of healthcare policy changes, noting that any reform is likely to displease at least one stakeholder group. For instance, enhancing traditional Medicare to be more competitive with MA, while beneficial for enrollees, could negatively impact insurers through reduced enrollment and profitability. The study also suggested that generating savings for the federal government would likely necessita...
