Radar on Medicare Advantage

Bowing to CMS’s request after another public comment period, Tennessee is reluctantly pursuing a series of changes to the pending TennCare III demonstration that had been approved by the Trump administration for a start date of Jan. 8, 2021. In what one source says is an unusual back-and-forth on public display, the state will abandon its notorious plans to implement a closed Medicaid formulary and adopt a fixed funding mechanism.

Shortly before President Joe Biden took office, the Trump administration in January 2021 approved Tennessee’s request to use an “aggregate cap” for Medicaid funding that many industry observers had likened to a block grant. Through that approach, Tennessee would have received federal Medicaid funds based on a fixed budget target that is determined by CMS and the state using historical enrollment and costs data. If spending fell below that target cap but certain quality goals were met, the state would earn up to 55% of annual savings to reinvest back into other state health programs.

As CMS urges Medicare Advantage insurers to tighten up their oversight of third-party marketing organizations (TPMOs) and as state insurance regulators seek to regain authority over MA marketing that was transferred to CMS nearly 20 years ago, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wants answers about “potentially deceptive marketing tactics practiced by Medicare Advantage plans.” His investigation could signal legislative interest in returning MA marketing oversight to states, but some industry experts question whether breaking up the CMS-owned process would be in the best interest of beneficiaries.

In letters sent last month, the Senate Finance Committee chairman wrote to 15 state insurance commissioners and State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) expressing his concern about reports of increased beneficiary complaints regarding MA and Part D plan marketing materials and “alarming reports that MA and Part D health plans and their contractors are engaging in aggressive sales practices that take advantage of vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities.”

While an unprecedented number of Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans earned a 5-star rating for 2022 largely because of flexibilities granted during the COVID-19 public health emergency, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) credits a performance-based pharmacist intervention model with dramatically improving its drug-related scores and contributing to a 5-star summary rating for both of its contracts.

Nearly 70% of Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans earned on overall rating of 4 stars or higher for 2022, when CMS allowed plans to use the better of the two years’ rating (2021 or 2022) for most measures because all contracts qualified for the “extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy.” Plans will not have that flexibility for the 2023 star ratings due out this fall.