Medicare Advantage Round-Up

On December 7, the Medicare Annual Coordinated Election Period (AEP) ended. This is the period during which individuals with Medicare can make coverage choices for the coming year.  One thing that sets this AEP apart from prior years’ is that we will soon be crossing – or have already crossed – the threshold of half of all Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, moving the Medicare program farther along the path toward privatization.  

Despite growing evidence that MA plans are overpaid in relation to traditional Medicare, glaring problems with access to care experienced by many MA enrollees (including network restrictions and prior authorization), and decidedly mixed health outcomes of MA enrollees, this tectonic shift in Medicare is occurring without adequate oversight and intervention by Congress and regulators at the Medicare program. As outlined in this article, these issues, including more balanced media coverage, mixed outcomes in MA, the growing criticism of MA plans, and oversight of MA plans, thankfully seem to be getting more attention in the media and independent reports. We urge policymakers to respond in kind.

• Read the full article at https://medicareadvocacy.org/medicare-advantage-round-up/.