Medicare Advantage in the headlines: 7 recent updates

Aetna is seeking to defend a contract to provide a Medicare Advantage plan for New York City's retired employees in court, and new research finds overpayments in the program could be larger than previously thought. 

Here are seven updates about Medicare Advantage Becker's has reported since June 8. 

1. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is overriding the city comptroller's attempt to block the implementation of its contract with Aetna to administer a Medicare Advantage plan for 250,000 city retirees. City Comptroller Brad Lander sought to block the implementation of the contract while a lawsuit from retirees challenging the plan is ongoing. 
   
   
2. The Alliance of Community Health Plans proposed a set of policies aimed at curbing misleading marketing in Medicare Advantage. 
   
   
3. Aetna is seeking to intervene in a lawsuit filed by retired New York City employees seeking to block the payer's Medicare Advantage contract with the city from taking effect. In a petition, the company denied allegations from the retirees that Aetna's Medicare Advantage plan could subject retirees to coverage denials, higher out-of-pocket costs and more restrictive networks. 
   
   
4. Medicare Advantage plan enrollees have lower expenses than those with similar risk scores who remain in traditional Medicare, but payments to the program are based on traditional Medicare, according to a whitepaper from researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The analysis suggests Medicare Advantage overpayments could be higher than previously thought.
   
   
5. Independence Blue Cross' Keystone Health Plan East received an estimated $11.3 million in overpayments for 2016 and 2017, according to an audit from HHS' Office of Inspector General. 
   
   
6. Audits published in the last six months found almost $32 million in overpayments across six Medicare Advantage plans, according to the OIG's semiannual report to Congress. 
   
   
7. Medicare Advantage patients who receive in-home health visits through the Optum HouseCalls program spend less time in the emergency room and inpatient hospital settings, according to a study by Yale Medicine and Optum researchers.