America's Health Insurance Plans Comments on Final Rate Notice for Medicare Advantage and Part D for 2023

WASHINGTON, April 5 (TNStalk) -- America's Health Insurance Plans issued the following statement:

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Matt Eyles, President and CEO of AHIP, issued this statement following the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) release of the Announcement of Calendar Year (CY) 2023 Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies.

"More than 28 million Americans choose MA, and 93% say they are satisfied with their plans. It is clear that year after year, MA continues to deliver better services, better access to care, and better value. Health insurance providers remain committed to partnering with the Administration and Congress to ensure that MA and Part D delivers for Americans, including the 57% of MA enrollees who are women, and the 40% of enrollees who earn less than $25,000 a year.

"We appreciate that with this final rate notice, the Administration continues to support innovation and flexibility in MA to improve affordability, access, and value for enrollees and taxpayers.

"However, we are concerned that due to separate and ongoing rulemaking, several policies remain in question, which if finalized would be unworkable and could negatively impact seniors by increasing premiums or reducing benefits. Examples include requiring all possible pharmacy price concessions be included in Part D point-of-sale negotiated prices and changing the calculation of maximum out-of-pocket costs for Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNP). We also renew our call for CMS to extend its COVID-19 disaster relief policy and special rules to 2023 Star Ratings. We urge CMS to swiftly re-evaluate the substance and timing of these proposals, as 2023 MA plan designs are being finalized now in advance of the June 6 deadline.

"We thank CMS for its partnership, and we look forward to continuing our work together to improve the health and financial well-being of the millions of seniors and people with disabilities that MA and Part D serve."

Read AHIP's comment letter (https://www.ahip.org/resources/ahip-comment-letter-on-advance-notice-for-medicare-advantage-and-part-d) on the Advance Notice, submitted March 4, 2022.