Payments to Medicare Advantage plans would rise by a quarter percent next year under a proposal from the new Trump administration.
The plans would receive a 0.25 percent increase on average, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Wednesday afternoon. It’s a more modest increase than last year, when plans saw an average increase of 0.85 percent.
About one of every three seniors are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, an alternative Medicare program that pays private plans instead of reimbursing providers directly for each medical service. CMS Acting Administrator Patrick Conway said the payment increase will keep the popular program strong.
“Medicare Advantage is an essential, growing part of the Medicare program,” Conway said. “These proposals will continue to keep Medicare Advantage strong and stable and provide high-quality, affordable care to seniors and people living with disabilities.”
The rates won’t be finalized until April. In recent years, the Obama administration initially proposed payment cuts but later rescinded the cuts under heavy lobbying by the insurance industry.
Last year, CMS proposed a 1.35 percent payment boost but ultimately lowered it to 0.85 percent. Plans receive different payments because of quality bonuses and differences in how healthy their enrollees are and where they live.
