Medicare Advantage beneficiaries used what amounted to $8,718 less in resources than traditional Medicare beneficiaries within six months of beginning chemotherapy treatment, according to a study published Sept. 20 in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers from Fairfax, Va.-based George Mason University, Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City analyzed Medicare encounter and claims data from Jan. 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2019. The cohort was composed of 96,501 Medicare Advantage and 206,274 traditional Medicare beneficiaries who underwent chemotherapy during that time.
Resource use included inpatient services, outpatient care, Part D drugs and hospice services, according to the study.
The study also compared care quality and overall survival between the two groups. While differences in care quality were mixed, there was no difference found in overall survival.