Better Medicare Alliance Statement on CY25 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rate Notice

WASHINGTON – Better Medicare Alliance (BMA), the nation’s leading research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, today issued the following statement by Mary Beth Donahue, BMA President and CEO, regarding the 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rate Notice by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

“The CMS Final Rate Notice failed to address the concerns of influential bipartisan Members of Congress, thousands of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, and more than one hundred organizations serving beneficiaries. The proposal did not fully account for rising health care costs and a sharp increase in seniors’ use of care impacting patients and providers, putting at risk the stability of care for the program’s more than 32 million beneficiaries.

Left unaddressed, CMS’ Final Rate Notice risks the stability of the affordable and dependable care more than 32 million Medicare Advantage beneficiaries rely on, especially those with lower incomes and from diverse communities, who may experience disruption to their benefits or premiums in the fall of 2024 when they choose their Medicare coverage.

Additionally, the Final Rate Notice comes on top of the most significant policy changes to the Medicare Advantage program since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, including Part D changes as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, the continued phase-in of a new risk adjustment model, and new changes to the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design supplemental benefits for 2025, which is a model that enables innovation and flexibility in how holistic benefits are delivered to specific populations. Together, these new policies over a short period of time make significant changes to the Medicare Advantage program and impact beneficiaries.”

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Better Medicare Alliance is a community of more than one million grassroots beneficiaries and 200+ Ally organizations working to improve health care through a strong Medicare Advantage. Learn more at www.bettermedicarealliance.org.