News Briefs: Aetna Wins Group Medicare Advantage Contract to Serve Connecticut State Retirees

Jun 02
Jun 02, 2022

CVS Health Corp.’s Aetna won a new group Medicare Advantage contract to serve retirees covered by Connecticut’s state health plan. Connecticut Comptroller Natalie Braswell on June 1 said the state selected Aetna after a competitive bidding process and that the new contract will save an estimated $400 million over the next three years. Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, Aetna will serve some 57,000 Medicare-eligible retirees and dependents enrolled in the state’s MA plan. Connecticut first adopted an MA plan for retirees in 2018.

After CMS imposed a historic increase to Medicare Part B premiums partly due to cost considerations around Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aduhelm, the agency on May 27 said it will not make a midyear change but will likely lower the Part B premium in 2023. Upon raising the standard monthly premium by $21.60 to $170.10 for 2022, the agency in November said it considered “[a]dditional contingency reserves due to the uncertainty regarding the potential use” of Aduhelm, which was approved in July 2021 and priced at $56,000 per year. After Aduhelm makers Biogen and Eisai, Co., Ltd., cut that price in half starting Jan. 1, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra instructed CMS to reassess the Part B premium. Meanwhile, the FDA issued a National Coverage Determination stating that Medicare will cover Aduhelm only for patients enrolled in randomized, controlled clinical trials conducted either through the FDA or the National Institutes of Health. CMS recommended incorporating the savings realized from this year’s lower-than-anticipated spending into the 2023 Part B premium determination.
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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.