News Briefs: KFF Identifies Nearly 4,000 MA Plans are Available in 2024

A KFF report released on Nov. 8 found that 3,959 Medicare Advantage plans are available for individual enrollment next year, the second-largest number of plans since 2010 and a 1% decrease from this year.  Meanwhile, the average beneficiary will be able to choose from 43 plans, the same as this year's record high. Eighty-nine percent of MA plans will offer prescription drug coverage in 2024; while 83% will offer telehealth benefits; and at least 97% will offer some dental, vision, fitness or hearing benefits.

A group of 32 Reps. led by Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Judy Chu (D-CA) sent a letter on Nov. 3 to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure requesting increased oversight of artificial intelligence tools (AI) used to guide coverage decisions for Medicare Advantage plans. The elected officials wrote that “in recent years, problems posed by prior authorization have been exacerbated by MA plans’ increasing use of AI or algorithmic software managed by firms such as NaviHealth, myNexus, and CareCentrix to assist in their coverage determinations in certain care settings.” They asked CMS to require MA plans to report prior authorization data, compare guidance generated by AI tools with actual coverage decisions and assess whether plans are inappropriately using AI tools.