Racial Medicare Access Disparities Worsen Health Outcomes for Black Enrollees

Research early last year found that Black patients are routinely offered less high-quality Medicare Advantage plans compared to their white counterparts. A new study builds on this, finding that the decreased access to 5-star plans has measure effects on outcomes for Black enrollees. The researchers looked at hospitalizations that would be avoidable with disease management and outpatient care covered by better plans.

According to Chris Tachibana, “They found that Black Medicare Advantage enrollees had significantly higher rates of avoidable hospitalizations compared to white enrollees. Per every 10,000 enrollees, Black beneficiaries had 39.4 more hospitalizations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions than white beneficiaries.”

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(Source: Penn Today, January 4^th, 2022)