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:
- Standardizing benefits to make sure plans provide valuable supplemental benefits. MedPAC has pitched standard benefits as a way to simplify beneficiaries’ choices.
- 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.
- Reorienting star ratings around outcomes, rather than processes.
- Updating risk adjustment audits to focus on current data, rather than years-old data.
- Incentivizing capitated payments to providers.
Read more here.
