Better Medicare Alliance Statement On 2019 Medicare Advantage Final Rate Notice

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Better Medicare Alliance (BMA) President and CEO Allyson Y. Schwartz released the following statement in response to the CY2019 Medicare Advantage (MA) Final Rate Notice and Call Letter released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today:

"Today, Better Medicare Alliance is pleased that CMS has finalized policies to accelerate the move to value-driven care, strengthen Medicare Advantage and enable flexibility to introduce new models of care to meet the promise of high-quality care for millions of Americans.

"The significant growth of the Medicare population requires a stable environment for Medicare Advantage and the ability to meet the challenges of a growing population with complex needs. The guidance released today is positive news for health plans, clinicians, health systems, technology companies and community partner organizations that are responsible for the care of 20 million beneficiaries on Medicare Advantage.

"Better Medicare Alliance provided comments to CMS from its broad coalition of over 100 ally organizations on policy solutions to provide flexibility for insurance benefit designs, reduce cost-sharing for beneficiaries, and tailor supplemental benefits for specific clinical conditions – all of which has received bipartisan Congressional support. We support CMS intention to reinterpret the uniformity requirements and remove artificial limits on Medicare Advantage called "meaningful difference" requirements.

"While we are still reviewing the full impact of the Final Rate Notice released today, we are encouraged that CMS acknowledged concerns regarding the new payment methodology for Medicare Advantage retiree plans known as Employer Group Waiver Plans (EGWPs).

"Today's announcement reflects the fact that the Administration, Congress, the health community and a growing number of beneficiaries recognize that innovative care delivery and transformative solutions in Medicare Advantage drives quality, cost-effective care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries."

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SOURCE Better Medicare Alliance