Lindsey
Copeland August 1, 2019
A new report from the AARP Public Policy
Institute examines changes to Medicare Advantage (MA) supplemental benefit
policies and the implications for people with Medicare.
MA plans have long
been able to offer benefits beyond what is required by law. However, the Balanced Budget Act of 2018 and recent
regulatory decisions, including those in the 2019 Part C and D final rule and
the Final Call Letter for 2019, have greatly
increased this authority.
Among the reforms with
significant consequences for consumers are those that expand the array of
benefits MA plans can offer and grant the insurers more latitude to design and
target those packages. While these changes could result in plan offerings that
work well for some people with Medicare, they also have the potential to
introduce additional complexity and confusion into the plan-selection process.
The evolving landscape
may also increase the potential for plans to include discriminatory or other
poorly aligned incentives as insurers experiment with the offerings to find the
most profitable approach. As a result, this suite of updates could make it more
difficult for people with Medicare to choose the best, most affordable coverage
for their unique circumstances. This is especially troubling given the well-documented deficiencies of many
Medicare decision-making tools.
AARP discusses these
and other considerations and recommends ways the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) can prioritize beneficiaries in the roll-out and
adoption of these changes; namely by strengthening its plan oversight and
monitoring methods.
The Medicare Rights
Center shares AARP’s concerns and supports the outlined policy improvements.
With some of the new MA plan changes taking effect in 2019—and with the full
range to be in place next year—it is urgent that CMS prepare robust consumer
protection and plan compliance systems.
Looking ahead, we
recognize that while some of the new policies may benefit people with Medicare,
others may not. Accordingly, we will remain actively engaged in the
implementation process and in the development of future reforms, to ensure the
beneficiary perspective is considered throughout.
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