You are invited to join us for our event — Medicaid’s Disadvantage: Why Private Plans Work Better in Medicare Than in Medicaid
When: October 14, 2026 @ 1:00–2:00 PM EDT
Where: Virtual (Zoom webinar)
Join Paragon for a virtual discussion on why private plans work better in Medicare than in Medicaid. Our panelists will examine how differences in financing, regulation, and consumer choice shape incentives in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care—and what lessons policymakers can draw from Medicare Advantage to improve efficiency, accountability, and consumer choice in Medicaid.
The event is based on a new Paragon policy brief, Medicaid’s Disadvantage: Why Private Plans Work Better in Medicare Than in Medicaid, by Chris Pope. The brief explains how Medicare Advantage plans compete to attract and retain individual beneficiaries, while Medicaid managed care plans largely compete for state contracts, leaving beneficiaries with far less meaningful choice and plans with weaker incentives to deliver value to individual patients.
Panelists:
- Chris Pope—Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute
- Demetrios Kouzoukas—Director of Paragon’s Medicare Reform Initiative; Director of Medicare at CMS (2017-2021)
- Boris Vabson—Visiting Fellow at Paragon; Senior Advisor at CMS, leading various Medicare Advantage policy initiatives (2025-2026)
- John Kaelin—Special Advisor to the Executive Director at The Hilltop Institute; formerly Senior Vice President of Centene Corporation (2015-2026)
