The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, & Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) significantly reformed contracting for the administration of claims for Part A, Medicare's hospital insurance, & Part B, which covers outpatient services such as physicians' care. The MMA required the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to conduct open competition for its claims administration contracts & to transfer the work to Medicare administration contractors by Oct. 2011. This report reviewed the extent to which: (1) the plan provides an appropriate framework for implementing Medicare contracting reform; & (2) the plan's cost & savings estimates are sound enough to support decisions on implementation. Charts & tables.