Medicare Rights Center Identifies Consumer Protections for New Medicare Payment and Delivery Models

NEW YORK, Nov. 22 -- The Medicare Rights Center issued the following news release:

The Medicare Rights Center joined with the AARP Public Policy Institute to release a new report, Consumer Protections in New Medicare Payment and Delivery Models: A Checklist. Drawing on experiences with Medicare Rights' national consumer helpline, the checklist identifies 17 concrete consumer protections that Medicare Rights believes should be integrated into the design of all Medicare payment and delivery models.

The Affordable Care Act established the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to find ways to reduce the cost of health care while improving quality of care. CMMI is now developing and improving various value-based models to test new ways for Medicare to pay for and deliver care. Such models aim to reward value over volume and improve health outcomes for people with Medicare while reducing costs to the Medicare program.

"Medicare is a vital source of health care for 57 million older adults and people with disabilities," said Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center. "A shift in payment design to reward value could help the program continue to provide high-quality care with fewer resources, but payment and delivery reforms will achieve their goals most effectively if people with Medicare are given the information they need and a voice in the process."

The three main categories of the consumer protections checklist are:

* Models should offer more effective information and assistance to consumers, caregivers, and families;

* Models should engage consumers, caregivers, and families; and

* Models should improve transparency and oversight.

Within each of these sections, ideas are provided for CMMI to use internally as well as protections they should suggest or require of participating plans and providers. While this checklist is targeted specifically at CMS and CMMI, it could be a useful resource for future model developments by any agency or organization.

"It is vital that we always give people with Medicare the information they need to make good choices and listen when they speak. With appropriate safeguards in place, future Medicare models have the potential to improve health care for millions of people," said Baker.

Consumer Protections in New Medicare Payment and Delivery Models: A Checklist is available at https://www.aarp.org/ppi/info-2017/consumer-protections-in-new-medicare-payment-and-delivery-models.html.

Support for this work was provided by AARP. The views presented here are those of the author and not necessarily those of AARP or its directors, officers, or staff.

This document was posted showing the date: Nov. 21, 2017.