Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia are 1.4 times more likely to switch to traditional Medicare than their counterparts without the disease, a study published Sept. 15 in JAMA Health Forum found.
The study compared enrollment patterns for 32.8 million Medicare beneficiaries who used post-acute or acute care from 2013 to 2018.
Enrollment growth in Medicare Advantage were similar among enrollees with and without Alzheimer's disease. Among Medicare-eligible people with the disease, enrollment increased by 8.3 percent from 2013 to 2018, and enrollment increased 8.2 percent among those without Alzheimer's disease.
The two groups also had similar rates of disenrollment from one Medicare Advantage contract to another MA plan.
Beneficiaries who had Alzheimer's disease and related dementia who were also dually-eligible for Medicaid were more likely to switch to traditional Medicare than those who were not dually-eligible, the study found.
The study's authors concluded that the findings "highlight the need to understand the factors associated with higher disenrollment rates and determine whether such rates reflect access or quality challenges for beneficiaries with ADRD."
The study was written by researchers at Brown University in Providence, R.I. Read the full study here.