Dr. Sachin Jain: 5 fixes for Medicare Advantage

Five key changes could improve Medicare Advantage, SCAN Group CEO Sachin Jain, MD, wrote in Forbes Jan. 30. 

Though the program can provide more benefits at a lower cost to older adults, there are well-documented issues with Medicare Advantage, Dr. Jain wrote. 

Here are five improvements that could cut down on overpayments and improve the quality of the program, according to Dr. Jain: 

1. Standardizing benefits to make sure plans provide valuable supplemental benefits. MedPAC has pitched standard benefits as a way to simplify beneficiaries' choices. 
   
   
2. Reforming the broker industry to focus on providing support for the entire time beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, not just when they choose their plan. 
   
   
3. Reorienting star ratings around outcomes, rather than processes. 
   
   
4. Updating risk adjustment audits to focus on current data, rather than years-old data. 
   
   
5. Incentivizing capitated payments to providers. 

Read more here.