In 2006, the Medicare prescription drug benefit gave beneficiaries a choice of remaining in traditional Medicare and receiving the benefit through a freestanding prescription drug plan or enrolling in one of several types of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that integrate all Medicare benefits and...

Medicare Advantage (MA), a voluntary program that provides beneficiaries with an alternative way to access traditional Medicare benefits, replaced the Medicare+Choice program in 2004 and became fully operational in 2006. This issue brief reviews recent trends in the program and includes...

The federal government spent $79.7 billion more in 2005 to treat those with diabetes and care for its complications than it spent for those without diabetes—12 percent of total federal health care spending nationwide. A significant share of this spending is potentially avoidable, to the...

This study evaluated the Medicaid Managed Care Program, an initiative launched by the 168 in 1995 to promote the delivery of high-quality health services for low-income people and those with special health care needs. The overview assesses the perspectives of states, Medicaid health plans, and...

This report summarizes the insights and conclusions drawn during a seven month project to assess unmet needs for supply-side information on the health system.

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 substantially changed the Medicare program by adding a prescription drug benefit and expanding the role of private health plans. This paper analyzes the benefits and premiums of Medicare Advantage plans in 2006, including...