Medicare Health Plans and Dually Eligible Beneficiaries: Industry Perspectives on the Current and Future Market

With federal and state governments now pursuing efforts to better coordinate care and reduce costs for people dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits, this brief examines how insurers now serving these markets view the opportunities and challenges.

The brief is based on interviews with senior executives at 13 large firms that contract with the Medicare and Medicaid programs and finds almost all of the insurers expect dually eligible beneficiaries will become more important to their business over time. The brief also looks at how insurers currently serve dually eligible beneficiaries, particularly through Special Needs Plans that are part of the Medicare Advantage program.

The report is authored by researchers at Mathematica Policy Research and the Kaiser Family Foundation.