In 2026 Bid Cycle, Medicare Advantage Plans Showed ‘Hyper Focus’ on Product Details

Jun 06
Jun 06, 2025

As Medicare Advantage and Part D organizations submitted their bids for plan year 2026, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created continued uncertainty around the direct subsidy that covers a portion of plans’ Part D costs. At the same time, there remained heightened concern around maintaining and improving margin, as large publicly traded firms struggled with pricing last year that didn’t match utilization, and sponsors were forced to take a deeper look at their service areas and benefits to maintain margin stability.

And that’s just scratching the surface of the many considerations that went into bids this year, according to actuaries who spoke with AIS Health, a division of MMIT, after helping MA and Part D clients prepare their bids by the June 2 deadline.
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Lauren Flynn Kelly

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.