The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a range of proposed alterations to Medicare Advantage (MA) insurance plans, which include a greater flexibility when it comes to access to telehealth. CMS said growing numbers of seniors were choosing MA plans and expanding reimbursements for additional telehealth services meant fewer older patients would need to make costly or risky trips to emergency rooms or clinics. The proposals also set out to improve dual eligible special needs plans, adult day care and in-home support services, and benefits targeted to patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes. CMS added that if the proposals are finalized, they would lead to $4.5 billion in savings to Medicare Trust Funds over 10 years, mostly through the recovery of improper payments to MA plans. CMS said more than 33 percent of enrollees to MA choose the private, rather the government version, and predicted the Medicare Advantage premium would decline by 6.1 percent, with around 600 more plans available from 2019. In an effort to address concerns about rising costs associated with prescription drug coverage, CMS announced new rules on how companies can pay rebates to pharmacies under Medicare.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a range of proposed alterations to Medicare Advantage (MA) insurance plans, which include a greater flexibility when it comes to access to telehealth. CMS said growing numbers of seniors were choosing MA plans and expanding reimbursements for additional telehealth services meant fewer older patients would need to make costly or risky trips to emergency rooms or clinics. The proposals also set out to improve dual eligible special needs plans, adult day care and in-home support services, and benefits targeted to patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes. CMS added that if the proposals are finalized, they would lead to $4.5 billion in savings to Medicare Trust Funds over 10 years, mostly through the recovery of improper payments to MA plans. CMS said more than 33 percent of enrollees to MA choose the private, rather the government version, and predicted the Medicare Advantage premium would decline by 6.1 percent, with around 600 more plans available from 2019. Medicare open enrolment runs until 7 December.