Access to Specialty Cancer Care and Plan Disenrollment Among Medicare Beneficiaries

Is access to specialized cancer care, as measured through Medicare Advantage network breadth, associated with plan disenrollment for beneficiaries with new cancer diagnoses?In this cohort study among 24 444 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, increased network breadth was associated with a decreased probability of changing plans among those in nonemployer plans charging a premium but an increased probability of changing plans for those in 0-premium nonemployer plans. Network breadth was not associated with any change in coverage occurring for beneficiaries enrolled in employer plans.These findings suggest that employer subsidization of coverage may outweigh concerns about network breadth for patients newly diagnosed with cancer.

Corresponding Author: Emma M. Achola-Kothari, PhD, Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 2525 West End Ave, Ste 1275, Nashville, TN 37209 (emma.m.achola@vanderbilt.edu).

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