Radar on Medicare Advantage

In its new rule proposing an array of policy and technical changes for the 2023 Medicare Advantage and Part D contract year, CMS devoted a large section to advancing integration of Medicare and Medicaid benefits for dually eligible individuals. Though the rule is largely in line with the goals of the SNP Alliance, whose member plans serve approximately 2.5 million Special Needs Plan (SNP) enrollees, the organization says many of the proposals will require greater collaboration between states and plans, as well as more specificity and standardization around the proposed collection of social determinants of health (SDOH) data.

The proposed rule, Medicare Program; Contract Year 2023 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs (87 Fed. Reg. 1842, Jan. 12, 2022), included the following provisions:

The pandemic-fueled boom in 5-star rated Medicare Advantage contracts could cause “significant market disruption” in 2022, suggests a new report from Wakely. In an analysis of enrollment data from CMS, the actuarial consulting firm found that 5-star contracts account for 19% to 30% of MA intra-year enrollment growth (i.e., enrollment gains occurring between February and December of a particular year), with 5-star contracts growing between 3.8% and 5.1% midyear. Since 5-star plans have the advantage of marketing their products all year long and enrolling members who qualify for the 5-star special enrollment period, the major increase in the number of available 5-star plans has the potential to create unprecedented enrollment shifts later this year. The report warned, however, that midyear plan switchers may have a less-than-favorable risk profile.

In addition to floating a variety of potential changes aimed at advancing health equity in the Medicare Advantage and Part D programs, CMS in its Feb. 2 release of the 2023 preliminary rate notice estimated that MA plans will see an average pay boost of 8% in 2023. And that estimate could change: CMS for 2022 originally estimated that plans would receive an average reimbursement increase of 2.8%, then bumped that estimate up to 4.08% in the final rate announcement. 

To Evercore ISI, the 2023 estimate isn’t far off from the “all-in” rate increase of 7.6% in 2022, when considering average risk coding trend, which varies by company.

CMS on Jan. 6 released a 360-page proposed rule largely aimed at increasing Medicare Advantage plan accountability and strengthening beneficiary protections, particularly for patients who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. As the first major MA and Part D rulemaking under the Biden administration, the proposed rule would reinstate several policies that were unwound by the Trump administration, such as the return of detailed reporting medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements and provider network reviews for new and expanding MA plans.

The proposed rule, Medicare Program; Contract Year 2023 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs (87 Fed. Reg. 1842, Jan. 12, 2022), also revisits a Trump-era plan to reform pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) — a topic that has long been a thorn in the side of community pharmacies. Specifically, CMS proposed to include all pharmacy price concessions — removing an exception for those that cannot be reasonably determined — at the point of sale in the definition of “negotiated price,” which is the primary basis for determining a beneficiary’s cost of obtaining a Part D covered drug.