Medigap protection and plan switching among Medicare advantage enrollees with cancer

JAMA Health Forum

2025-06-07

(Press-News.org) About The Study: In this cohort study, state Medigap guaranteed issue protections were associated with higher rates of switching to traditional Medicare among Medicare Advantage beneficiaries newly diagnosed with cancer. These findings underscore the protective association of state Medigap regulations in facilitating a switch to traditional Medicare (especially among beneficiaries who likely desired more flexibility in accessing and receiving care) and illuminate potential disparities in switching that may reflect unequal abilities to compare and afford plans.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Youngmin Kwon, PhD, email youngmin.kwon@vumc.org.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.2018)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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Media advisory: This study is being presented at the AcademyHealth 2025 Annual Research Meeting.

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About JAMA Health Forum: JAMA Health Forum is an international, peer-reviewed, online, open access journal that addresses health policy and strategies affecting medicine, health and health care. The journal publishes original research, evidence-based reports and opinion about national and global health policy; innovative approaches to health care delivery; and health care economics, access, quality, safety, equity and reform. Its distribution will be solely digital and all content will be freely available for anyone to read.

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