FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 15, 2025
Media Contact: Anika Thota, PNHP Policy & Communications Specialist, anika@pnhp.org
Chicago, IL – Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) today announced the release of a new equity report, “No Real Choices: How Medicare Advantage Fails Seniors of Color” which reveals that Medicare Advantage (MA) deepens racial and ethnic disparities in access to care and quality of coverage.
Funded by a grant from Arnold Ventures, our report analyzes how the structure and payment incentives of MA can lead to enrollees – particularly those from Black, Hispanic, and Asian communities – facing significant barriers to medically necessary care and being disproportionately enrolled in lower-performing, more restrictive plans. The report describes this as a form of structural inequity within MA, reflecting patterns that echo broader historical disparities in access and opportunity.
“Big Insurance has long pitched Medicare Advantage as a key tool to fight inequality in our health care system, but like so much of their rhetoric, this is nothing but a bold-face lie,” said President of Center for Health & Democracy, Wendell Potter. “The truth is Medicare Advantage is neither Medicare, nor an advantage. And it certainly doesn’t exist to help fix inequities in care. It exists to help big insurance conglomerates.”
Misinformation incentivizes more people to join MA plans, resulting in a cycle of inequity. In turn, this leads to hospital closures, underfunded safety-net systems, limited access to specialty care, and disproportionate disease burdens along racial and economic lines.
“These privatized Medicare plans demonstrate a reckless prioritization of corporate profits over Americans’ essential healthcare needs,” said Dr. Diljeet K. Singh, President of Physicians for a National Health Program. “They consistently prevent millions from accessing the care they deserve, deepening racial and economic divides under the false promise of ‘choice’ and ‘innovation.’”
PNHP invites policymakers, advocates, and the public to review the findings and engage in dialogue about building a healthcare system that prioritizes equity.
Physician leaders from PNHP are available for interviews to speak on findings of this report. Please contact PNHP Policy and Communications Specialist, Anika Thota at anika@pnhp.org for interview requests.
Physicians for a National Health Program is a nonprofit research and education organization whose more than 25,000 members support single-payer Medicare for All reform.
