Radar on Medicare Advantage

  • MA Plan-Provider Disputes Increase as Prior Authorization Frustrations Fester

    Amid reports of increasing prior authorization (PA) requests and coverage denials, dozens of hospitals and health systems are exiting or threatening to exit insurers’ Medicare Advantage networks. Although some departures have already taken effect, many will impact the 2025 plan year, which MA insurers have begun promoting in advance of the Annual Election Period (AEP). While on the surface the disputes reflect providers’ growing frustrations with insurers’ PA policies, two industry experts say hospitals’ latest round of muscle-flexing may reflect a trend of health systems looking more strategically at their markets and seeking the best deals. 

    As Oct. 1, Becker’s Hospital Review had counted at least 27 health care providers nationwide that have unveiled MA network departures this year. And that is not an exhaustive list, as additional reports of providers joining the exodus continue to pour in from local news outlets across the U.S.

  • Minn. Blues Plan’s Value-Based Pact With Herself Health Focuses on Senior Women

    After partnering with fledgling primary care startup Herself Health in January 2023, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota recently announced a new contract structure that will incentivize the provider to drive “results-driven health solutions” for the Blues plan’s female Medicare Advantage population. Retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024, the partners have entered a value-based agreement that will include specific, measurable quality targets aimed at improving overall health outcomes for women.

    Co-founded in 2022 by Kristen Helton, who previously led Amazon’s now-shuttered Amazon Care service for employees, Herself Health is a value-based health care technology company focused on delivering advanced primary care to women ages 65 and older. Since securing $7 million in seed round funding led by investment firm and founding partner Juxtapose, Herself Health has opened four clinics in the Twin Cities and is preparing to launch a fifth clinic in nearby Eagan, Minnesota.

  • News Briefs: Clover Health Says SEC Will Not Pursue Enforcement Action

    After a yearslong investigation into the insurer’s business practices, Clover Health Investments Corp. said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not intend to recommend an enforcement action related to the investigation. As previously disclosed, the SEC in February 2021 launched its probe shortly after a 2021 report from Hindenburg Research criticized multiple Clover business practices and accused its leaders of failing to disclose when the firm went public that it was under an active investigation by the Dept. of Justice. The MA-focused startup earlier this year settled a series of shareholder-led class action lawsuits that related to the DOJ probe. According to Sept. 30 SEC filing by the company, the SEC on Sept. 26 informed Clover that it had concluded its investigation and, “based on the information that the SEC had as of the date of the Notice,” it would not seek an enforcement penalty.  
  • Medicaid Madness: Behind Arizona’s Long-Term Care Contracting Controversy

    After informing three local plans of its decision to ignore the findings of an administrative law judge (ALJ) and move forward with statewide long-term care contracts awarded to Centene Corp. and UnitedHealth Group, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) on Sept. 12 in a surprise move extended existing agreements for one year. “Members continue to be the agency’s primary focus throughout this process,” stated AHCCCS, just days after insisting that its procurement process was applied “fairly to all bidders, including the non-awarded health plans.”

    In the “Director’s Decision” posted Sept. 9, however, the state Medicaid agency said it was denying the appeals of Mercy Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, and Banner-University Family Care,  and it defended its request for proposals (RFP) process, which the ALJ concluded was flawed and should be redone. That was after, according to a statement from AHCCCS, more than one managed care organization “submitted additional information for the Director to consider following the ALJ’s Decision.” AHCCCS said that information was “neither reviewed nor considered in developing the Director’s Decision.”

  • Directing Patients to M3P, Pfizer Notice Hints at ‘Pulling Back’ Assistance

    Medicare Advantage insurers and their distribution partners are bracing for a busy Annual Election Period, thanks in part to multiple Part D benefit changes resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act. Adding to their concerns about likely market disruption and enrollee confusion is a new drug manufacturer letter that raises operational and financial questions about the interplay between Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) and the Medicare Payment Prescription Plan (M3P).

    In a letter dated Aug. 19, Pfizer Inc. informed Part D beneficiaries using its Pfizer Oncology Together program that they must enroll in the M3P before they can be reconsidered for the PAP. According to the company’s website, Pfizer Oncology Together provides financial assistance with out-of-pocket (OOP) deductible, co-pay, or coinsurance costs for eligible patients who have been prescribed certain Pfizer Oncology oral and injectable medicines.

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