Better Medicare Alliance Responds to 2023 Medicare Advantage Rate Announcement
Coalition says rate announcement protects continuity of care for 28.5 million Medicare Advantage beneficiaries while advancing MA’s leadership in improving health equity
Washington, D.C. – Better Medicare Alliance, the nation’s leading research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage, responded to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2023 Medicare Advantage Rate Announcement.
“While we continue to review details, this is a Rate Announcement that puts beneficiaries first and ensures stability and continuity of care for the more than 28.5 million seniors and individuals with disabilities who choose Medicare Advantage nationwide. Better Medicare Alliance also applauds CMS’s keen focus on health equity in the Rate Announcement. The Medicare Advantage community is committed to being a good partner with CMS in the critical work of addressing social determinants of health and eliminating health disparities,” said Mary Beth Donahue, President and CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance.
Donahue continued, “Medicare Advantage has proven its worth for seniors and taxpayers. Today, Medicare Advantage delivers more than $1,600 a year in average annual consumer savings, a lower rate of avoidable hospitalizations and readmissions, supplemental benefits that meet beneficiaries’ clinical and social needs, and better health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic – all while maintaining lower per-beneficiary spending than FFS Medicare. With this stable Rate Announcement for 2023, Medicare Advantage can build on these successes; proving once again why it earns a 94% consumer satisfaction rate and the support of a record-setting 409 bipartisan members of the U.S. House and Senate. We will continue working with our 170 Ally organizations and over 600,000 beneficiary advocates to protect this coverage lifeline and increase understanding of how Medicare Advantage delivers a better value for the Medicare dollar.”
Background:
- An October 2021 analysis from Milliman finds that the government spends nearly $7 less per-member per-month on Medicare Advantage than it does for beneficiaries of similar health status in FFS Medicare ($949.39 PMPM in FFS Medicare vs. $942.53 PMPM in Medicare Advantage), explaining “these findings suggest that overall MA offers significant value to the federal government.”
- Medicare Advantage beneficiaries save an average of $1,640 a year on total health care costs compared to original FFS Medicare, based on an analysis of 2018 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) data conducted by ATI Advisory. An updated analysis is forthcoming and expected to show even greater beneficiary savings.
- 53% of Latino Medicare beneficiaries and 49% of African American Medicare beneficiaries choose to enroll in Medicare Advantage.
- A greater proportion of dual-eligible beneficiaries choose Medicare Advantage than FFS Medicare. Dual-eligible beneficiaries comprise 23% of the total Medicare Advantage population, compared to 17% in FFS Medicare.
- Medicare Advantage beneficiaries see a 43% lower rate of avoidable hospitalizations for any condition than original FFS Medicare, and a 5% lower rate of all-cause readmissions, according to a 2020 data analysis from Avalere Research.
- A leader in the drive to health equity, Medicare Advantage has seen a greater than three-fold increase in the availability of supplemental benefits to address social determinants of health from 2020 to 2021. Today, 69% of Medicare Advantage plans provide some form of meal benefit, while 50% of plans provide transportation between physician appointments.
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