Access, Quality Issues Prompt Medicare Advantage Member Disenrollment

Jun 18
Jun 18, 2025

High rates of switching among Medicare Advantage members can lead to a variety of issues for insurers, while disenrollment from MA altogether can be costly for the Medicare program. A new analysis published in Health Affairs finds that members’ discontent with health care access and quality outweighs perceived cost issues when disenrolling from their MA plans.

And while it’s clear that members frustrated with access and/or quality were more likely to leave their plan than those with cost issues, it’s less straightforward when considering “objective measures” such as Star Ratings and “plan generosity,” which the study characterizes as the average expected out-of-pocket cost (not including premiums), according to the study’s lead author, University of Michigan Health Services Researcher and Gerontologist Geoffrey Hoffman, Ph.D.
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Lauren Flynn Kelly

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.