Medicare Advantage Analysis Sparks Infighting at MedPAC Meeting

Fierce Healthcare | By Noah TongJan
 
A MedPAC meeting on the status of Medicare Advantage held Friday began with numbers on enrollment and insights into coding diagnoses before devolving into contentious debate over the quality of the report and whether the program is a good development for healthcare in the country.
 
Brian Miller, an assistant professor of medicine at John's Hopkins University, was at the center of complaints toward the status report compiled by policy analysts, arguing that the report only highlighted the negatives of the program and that past suggestions of his have not been taken into consideration.
 
Because Miller believed the report was decidedly anti-Medicare Advantage, he challenged the analysts to name three positive things about the program, calling into question the objectivity of the report. They responded that they strive for balance, and the commission, which is a nonpartisan independent agency that advises Congress on Medicare, has a long history of supporting private plans in the Medicare program. When chair Michael Chernew, professor of healthcare policy at Harvard, attempted to move along the conversation to the next commission member, Miller persisted.
 
"I think this is important for the public record because it gets to how balanced we are and how we approach programs, and this didn't really feel very balanced," he said. "There are plenty of bad things definitely that need to be improved ... I think it's really important again that it's a neutral thoughtful policy analysis."
 
Better Medicare Alliance, an advocacy organization in support of MA, stated they have "concerns" about MedPAC's methodology in the recent report. They highlight how 99% of patients have enhanced supplemental benefits in plans with $18 premiums.
 
"Relative to beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are lower-income, more diverse medically and socially complex and increasingly live in rural areas," said President and CEO Mary Beth Donahue in a statement shared with Fierce Healthcare following the hearing.
 
Over the course of the more than two-hour discussion, many members pushed back against the claims, praising the analysts' comprehensive look at Medicare Advantage in the report…

Read Full Article