A pair of senators are asking CMS to require Medicare Advantage plans to cover stays in long-term care facilities at the same rate as traditional Medicare.
Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, wrote a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Dec. 21, asking the agency to clarify MA plans cannot use different standards to approve long-term care than traditional Medicare.
In their letter the senators wrote they have heard concerns from long-term care hospitals in states that "regularly receive denial letters from Medicare Advantage plans."
"Unfortunately, Medicare Advantage plan prior authorization practices are creating significant barriers to [long-term hospital] care for critically and chronically ill patients," the senators wrote.
In a final rule issued in April, CMS said Medicare Advantage plans cannot implement prior authorization criteria that are more stringent than traditional Medicare. In their letter, the senators asked the agency to clarify this statute also applies to long-term care hospitals.
"We write to ask CMS to confirm this interpretation is correct and to request such information be publicly clarified to eliminate confusion for Medicare Advantage plans and ensure that [long-term care hospitals] are treated the same as any other post-acute care provider under the Medicare Advantage regulations," the senators concluded.
Read the full letter here.