Study finds Medicare Advantage diabetes enrollees show no better key health markers

Older adults with Type 2 diabetes who moved into Medicare Advantage did not show better key lab and blood-pressure markers than similar patients who stayed on traditional Medicare, according to an observational study published earlier this month in JAMA Internal Medicine and summarized Monday by MarketWatch.

Researchers followed about 35,000 adults with Type 2 diabetes for three and a half years. Roughly 45 percent enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan during that window. Those enrollees did not post clearer improvements in hemoglobin A1C, blood pressure, or LDL cholesterol than people who remained in traditional fee-for-service Medicare.

Lead author Dr. Seth Berkowitz, a primary care physician at UNC Health in Chapel Hill, N.C., told MarketWatch the study did not prove why. He said many Advantage plans advertise grocery allowances and prepaid cards for over-the-counter diabetes supplies, yet those extras may not reach people in practice. "Even though these benefits exist on paper for people, they're probably not reaching a lot of people," he said.

Medicare Advantage is sold by private insurers as an alternative to traditional Medicare. Plans often trade narrower networks and prior authorization for dental, vision, food cards, or rides to the doctor. MarketWatch noted about 10 million seniors were in plans with a food and produce benefit in 2025, and Advantage now covers about 55 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries.

Sachin Jain, CEO of nonprofit insurer SCAN Group, told MarketWatch supplemental benefits are one of the most challenged parts of the program. He said members often feel marketed benefits shrink once they try to use them because of restricted networks or inflated prices on over-the-counter credits. A Commonwealth Fund survey cited in the report found three in 10 Advantage enrollees used none of their supplemental benefits in 2024, and fewer than 10 percent used a grocery allowance or meal delivery.

MedPAC estimates the government spends about 14 percent more per Advantage enrollee than for traditional Medicare, partly because of coding intensity. The researchers wrote that higher spending could be worthwhile if it came with better health. A 2022 study had already found Advantage enrollment did not improve diabetes markers in older adults. For people comparing plans this fall, the new paper is a reminder to judge plans by access and outcomes, not only by the perks on the brochure.