Proposed Updates: Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans – Comment by January 5

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule outlining new policies for Medicare Advantage (MA) and Prescription Drug (Part D) plans for Contract Year 2025.  The proposals would set guidelines on compensation for agents and brokers, add a range of behavioral health providers to the current list that MA plans must contract with, require plans to notify enrollees mid-year of any supplemental benefits that are available to them but have not been used yet, conduct annual health equity analyses of prior authorization policies, and offer more enrollment opportunities in plans that integrate Medicare and Medicaid for dually eligible managed care enrollees.  Enrollment in MA has been growing in recent years, especially in rural areas where 45.1 percent of beneficiaries were enrolled in MA plans as of January 2023.

Read the full article: Contract Year 2025 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Plan Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, and Health Information Technology Standards