A study from the Government Accountability Board found that 35 of 126 Medicare Advantage plans with disenrollment rates above the median had a disproportionately high number of sick enrollees dropping out, according to WWNO.
The GAO's study investigated the reasons for Medicare Advantage disenrollment by examning data collected by the CMS in 2014.
Medicare Advantage plans are private insurance plans that supplement traditional Medicare coverage, with roughly one third of all Medicare enrollees purchasing Medicare Advantage. However, many of these plans do not offer the specialist coverage that many seniors require and can be restrict what providers or hospitals they cover.
In the first two months of 2017, the CMS fined 10 Medicare Advantage insurers over $4.1 million for denying or restricting services, and this spring Florida-based Freedom Health reached a $32 million settlement for discriminating its coverage based on a person's health.