MEDICARE ADVANTAGE :
CMS Overhauls Medicare Advantage Program
Published on Tue Mar 10, 2009
Oversight of MA could tighten significantly. CMS is buckling down on the Medicare Advantage (MA) program -- and it could end up meaning more scrutiny when you bill these plans. CMS announced on March 30 that it will make significant changes to Medicare Advantage. For instance,CMS will require MA organizations to ensure that all of the plans they offer in 2010 are significantly different from one another so beneficiaries can make better enrollment decisions. With fewer MA plan options on the market, CMS will be able to eliminate the low-volume plans that "crowd the market," according to a March 30 CMS press release on the topic. CMS notes that 27 percent of total MA plans that have fewer than 10 enrollees. "Having more transparent information available to help people with Medicare make confident choices in their health and drug coverage is important to President Obama and CMS," said Jonathan Blum, acting [...]