A study conducted by researchers at Brown University found that Medicare Advantage plans that serve disadvantaged populations often have lower ratings, comparatively. The study found that when adjusting for even a few socioeconomic factors, many plans enrolling a significant majority of underserved populations saw a significant spike in ratings.

“Policymakers have focused a lot of attention on measuring quality and rewarding better performance among health plans and providers,” said Amal Trivedi, senior author of the study. “But in order for these quality assessments to be accurate, they need to take into account the characteristics of the populations that are served.”

Get the full story here, and view the study in Health Affairs here.