Medicare: Program Designed to Inform Beneficiaries and Promote	 
Choice Faces Challenges (28-SEP-01, GAO-01-1071).		 
								 
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) established the		 
Medicare+Choice (M+C) program to expand health plan choices	 
available to beneficiaries. BBA permitted Medicare participation 
by preferred provider organizations, provider-sponsored 	 
organizations, and insurers offering private fee-for-service	 
plans or medical savings accounts. It also included provisions	 
designed to encourage the wider availability of health		 
maintenance organizations, which have long been an option for	 
many beneficiaries. To help beneficiaries understand and consider
all of their Medicare options, the National Medicare Education	 
Program (NMEP) organizes a toll-free help line, informational	 
mailings to beneficiaries, an Internet site, and educational and 
publicity campaigns. During each of the fiscal years 1998 through
2000, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) spent an	 
average of $107.8 million for NMEP, for a total of $323.3	 
million. Most of the expenditures were funded from user fees	 
collected from M+C plans, with the rest coming from other HCFA	 
accounts. Reaction to NMEP has generally been positive among	 
beneficiaries and beneficiary advocacy groups, but		 
representatives of M+C plans offered a mixed assessment. NMEP	 
activities have increased the amount and type of information	 
regarding Medicare, the M+C program, and specific health plans	 
that is available to beneficiaries and facilitated access to such
information. However, the extent to which NMEP has spurred	 
beneficiaries to actively consider their health plan options is  
unknown.							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-01-1071					        
    ACCNO:   A02060						        
    TITLE:   Medicare: Program Designed to Inform Beneficiaries and   
             Promote Choice Faces Challenges                                  
     DATE:   09/28/2001 
  SUBJECT:   Health care programs				 
	     Education or training				 
	     Internet						 
	     Information resources management			 
	     Beneficiaries					 
	     HCFA Consumer Assessments of Health		 
	     Plans Study					                                                                 
	     HCFA Regional Education About Choice in		 
	     Health Initiative					 								 
	     Medicare Choice Program				 
	     Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey		 
	     Medicare Program					 
	     HCFA National Medicare Education Program		 
	     State Health Insurance Assistance			 
	     Program