Radar on Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage plan design — particularly the cost of premiums — has a major influence on who chooses to enroll. The variance in that enrollment mix can have a big impact on outcomes and utilization, according to a new white paper from Inovalon and Harvard Medical School. Using Inovalon’s Medical Outcomes Research for Effectiveness and Economics Registry dataset, which tracks demographic and outcomes information for about 30% of the MA population at any given time, researchers found that socioeconomically disadvantaged populations were more attracted to MA, especially zero-premium products.

“Our research challenges the misconception that Medicare Advantage is a monolith, revealing significant differences in plan designs and features and how those variables affect enrollment and outcomes,” Boris Vabson, Ph.D., a health economist at Harvard Medical School and co-lead researcher on the project, said in an April 8 statement released alongside the research. 

The April 1 release of final rate projections for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans was largely uneventful as CMS maintained the same all-in estimate of what plans can expect to see, on average, in terms of a reimbursement update next year. But the market did not respond well: MA-exposed insurers’ shares took a tumble and equity analysts warned that a revenue decline — before coding trend — could lead to benefit cuts and footprint reductions.

Industry trade groups did not respond favorably, either. In a statement released immediately after the rate announcement, AHIP President and CEO Mike Tuffin said the finalized policies would “put even more pressure on the benefits and premiums of 33 million Medicare Advantage beneficiaries who will be renewing their coverage this fall,” particularly as the MA and Part D programs face regulatory and legislative changes.

Thanks to a final rule published just one year ago, Medicare Advantage plans as of Jan. 1 were expected to meet new constraints when it comes to applying their utilization management (UM) policies, including prior authorization. CMS has said it aims to assess UM-related performance of plans serving 88% of beneficiaries this year, and it intends to accomplish this through both routine program audits and “focused audits.” According to compliance experts, the volume of audit activity since CMS began sending engagement letters in late February suggests the agency is eager to meet its goal, but it may not like what it finds.