The 8.5% Medicare payment increase Medicare Advantage plans are receiving in 2023 could pave the way for even more non-medical supplemental benefits offered to MA plan beneficiaries, according to long-term care advisory firm ATI Advisory.
“Even with a more modest increase, I think we would see growth in these benefits,” Tyler Overstreet Cromer, principal at ATI Advisory, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “With this particular rate increase, we’ll see an increase in the number of plans offering these benefits.”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday announced the final 2023 rule for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D capitation rates. The 8.5% increase is well above the 7.8% rate increase CMS proposed back in February.
The number of American seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans is expected to eclipse those enrolled in traditional Medicare plans before 2030. ATI Advisory estimates about 45% of eligible seniors are enrolled in those plans now. The number of non-medical supplemental benefits private MA plans offer — including home care, transportation and meals — are a big part of their attraction.
One-third offering expanded supplemental benefits
A new report from ATI Advisory found that more than one-third of MA plans, including MA Value-Based Insurance Design model plans and special plans for seniors with chronic conditions, are offering expanded supplemental benefits. Food and produce, meals, pest control and transportation are among the most popular benefits offered.
ATI says currently 7.2 million seniors are enrolled in plans that offer supplemental benefits and 98% of MA beneficiaries live in a county that has at least one plan offering supplemental benefits.
“It is very powerful that most people live in a county where there is access to [supplemental benefits]. There are caveats to that, but it’s a good sign that access is improving, Cromer said.
Despite their popularity, Medicare Advantage plans aren’t without critics. Harvard professor and senior advisor to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation J. Michael McWilliams, M.D., recently said MA plans are growing too fast. McWilliams warned the Medicare A Trust Fund is not structured for MA plans and could be depleted within a few years.
