ArticleJAMA network open2026
Oncology Organization and Oncologist Networks Under Medicare Advantage Plans.
Article in JAMA network open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Importance: More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are now enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. These plans offer lower premiums and additional benefits compared with Traditional Medicare (TM) but commonly restrict organization and clinician networks, potentially limiting access to specialists, including oncologists. Little is known about the use of oncology networks in MA plans. Objective: To evaluate effective oncology network breadth under MA plans based on realized health care utilization. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used linked 2016-2019 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data to characterize effective oncology networks among beneficiaries diagnosed with 8 common cancers. Network trends were examined separately for regular MA plans and special needs plans (SNPs) within SEER counties, and network breadth was compared by metropolitan status and plan type (health maintenance organization [HMO], local or regional preferred provider organization [PPO], point-of-service [POS] plan, or other). Data were analyzed between March 1, 2025, and April 1, 2026. Main Outcomes and Measures: Effective oncology network breadth was defined at the plan-county-year level as the share of oncology organizations and oncologists accessed by MA beneficiaries relative to oncology organizations and oncologists accessed by TM beneficiaries in the same county-year, measured separately for oncology organizations, medical or surgical oncologists, and radiation oncologists and more than 1 MA-recorded visit to a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center. Results: A total of 807 580 MA beneficiaries (mean [SD] age, 70.4 [9.0] years; 420 662 males [52.1%]) were identified, representing 23 255 plan-year observations for regular MA plans and 17 716 for SNPs from 2016 through 2019. Across regular MA plans, beneficiaries accessed a mean (SD) of 12.0% (12.7%) of oncology organizations, 6.8% (9.6%) of medical or surgical oncologists, and 11.6% (13.8%) of radiation oncologists; across SNPs, beneficiaries accessed 12.4% (12.6%) of oncology organizations, 7.2% (8.6%) of medical or surgical oncologists, and 12.7% (15.5%) of radiation oncologists. MA-recorded visits to NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers were observed in 25.7% (n = 5983 of 23255) of regular MA plans and 20.5% (n = 3624 of 17716) of SNPs. Effective oncology network breadth was narrower for HMOs; nonmetropolitan (vs metropolitan) counties and regional PPOs (vs other plan types) had lower likelihood of MA-recorded visits to NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study of MA plans in SEER regions from 2016 to 2019, effective oncology organization and oncologist networks were constrained. Restricted access to NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers might limit access to innovative treatments and cancer outcomes, which warrants future research.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.