CMS is sanctioning Elevance Health and plans to suspend enrollment into the insurer’s Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans, according to a Feb. 27 agency letter. The enrollment and communications pause is set to begin March 31 unless Elevance submits all…
Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage growth is slowing down as payers prioritize margins over membership, and some states are recording a decline in enrollment for the first time, according to a Feb. 26 report from HealthScape Advisors and Chartis. The report used CMS…
CMS has suspended new Medicare Advantage enrollment into Aspirus Health Plan, part of Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health, after the insurer’s claims processor was taken over by Minnesota regulators. The intermediate sanction, issued Feb. 24, bars new Medicare beneficiaries from enrolling…
SCAN Health Plan will start a “Brokers as Health Navigators” program across its Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Washington markets, according to a Feb. 23 news release. “Many of the best brokers are already acting as trusted advisors, guiding…
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente is suing nine liability insurers for breach of contract, alleging they have refused to cover any portion of its $556 million settlement with the federal government resolving False Claims Act allegations tied to Medicare Advantage billing…
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Medicare Advantage now covers about 55% of eligible beneficiaries nationwide — more than 35 million people — but health systems are confronting a question that until recently felt almost taboo: What happens when participation in the country’s fastest-growing Medicare program…
One in 10 Medicare Advantage enrollees were forced to disenroll from their health plan heading into 2026 due to insurer exits from the market, a tenfold increase from historical averages, according to a study published Feb. 18 in JAMA. The…
Almost 35.5 million people were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as of Feb. 1, up about 3% from 34.4 million at the same time last year, according to CMS data analyzed by Becker’s. Growth during the annual enrollment period…
When San Diego-based Scripps Health walked away from nearly all of its commercial Medicare Advantage contracts Jan. 1, 2024, the move drew widespread attention across the industry. Medicare Advantage enrollment was still climbing nationally and many health systems were doubling…
A handful of insurers are boasting Medicare Advantage membership gains following the annual enrollment period. Annual enrollment ran from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, setting the stage for 2026 numbers. However, despite membership growth among some carriers, the Medicare Advantage…