{"id":2092125,"date":"2023-11-06T16:55:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T21:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-tackles-anti-competitive-behavior-with-medicare-advantage-plans\/"},"modified":"2023-11-06T17:02:36","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T22:02:36","slug":"biden-administration-tackles-anti-competitive-behavior-with-medicare-advantage-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-tackles-anti-competitive-behavior-with-medicare-advantage-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden administration combats &#8216;anti-competitive&#8217; actions in Medicare Advantage plans."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-administration-tackles-anti-competitive-behavior-with-medicare-advantage-plans%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2092125&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Biden Administration Proposes New Regulations to Improve Medicare Advantage \u200cPlans<\/h2>\n<p>The Biden\u2064 administration is taking steps to \u2062enhance competition and access to supplementary care services in \u200cMedicare Advantage plans.\u2063 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure emphasized the \u200cimportance of providing accurate\u200b and unbiased information to Medicare beneficiaries when making decisions about their health coverage. The\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-quarters-of-nursing-homes-will-have-to-hire-more-employees-per-new-cms-rule\/\" title=\"New CMS rule requires most nursing homes to increase staff.\">proposed regulations aim<\/a> to curb predatory marketing and inappropriate steering that distorts healthy competition among plans.<\/p>\n<h3>Increasing Enrollment and Addressing Compensation<\/h3>\n<p>As of March, there are nearly 66 million people enrolled in Medicare, with \u200dalmost 100,000\u200b new enrollees since \u2064September \u200d2022.\u200d Medicare Advantage plans, offered by private insurers and funded \u200bby the federal government, have around \u206232 million enrollees. The proposed rule \u2064seeks to limit the compensation provided to brokers or\u200c agents of Medicare \u200dAdvantage plans, closing loopholes that\u2064 create &#8220;anti-consumer steering\u2064 incentives.&#8221; It sets a fixed compensation rate\u200b of \u200d$632 per plan\u2064 to \u2063improve predictability and \u200deliminate\u200d variability in\u2063 payments.<\/p>\n<h3>Lowering Healthcare Costs and Expanding Coverage<\/h3>\n<p>Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra highlighted \u2064the importance of preventing\u2064 anti-competitive actors from deceiving seniors and\u2064 people with disabilities and playing fast and loose with marketing rules. These \u2062regulations align \u2064with the broader &#8220;Bidenomics&#8221; agenda, \u2062which aims to\u200d lower healthcare\u200b costs while expanding coverage.<\/p>\n<h3>Improving Access to Behavioral Healthcare<\/h3>\n<p>CMS is proposing\u200b regulations to increase \u2064access to behavioral healthcare and additional treatment providers under Medicare\u200b Advantage plans. This includes adding marriage and family\u2063 therapists, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/celebrate-the-truth-politifact-announces-festival-of-fact-checking-with-special-guests-anthony-fauci-and-cnns-brian-stelter\/\" title=\"\u2018Celebrate The Truth!\u2019 PolitiFact Announces \u2018Festival Of Fact-Checking,\u2019 With Special Guests Anthony Fauci and CNN\u2019s Brian Stelter\">mental health counselors<\/a>, \u2062addiction medicine\u200c clinicians, opioid treatment advisers, and others to CMS&#8217;s\u200c Medicare Advantage \u200dnetwork adequacy requirements. The Biden administration is\u2064 committed to \u2062improving access\u200d to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">mental health services<\/a>\u2062 and \u2062strengthening private insurance\u200c coverage for mental health counseling \u2064and addiction treatment.<\/p>\n<h3>Enhancing Transparency and Personalized Updates<\/h3>\n<p>The proposed regulation\u2063 also \u200crequires Medicare Advantage plans to send personalized statements to enrollees as a midyear update on available supplemental services until the end \u2063of the year. This \u2064includes\u2062 traditional \u200cbenefits like\u2063 vision\u2062 and hearing, as well as\u2062 new mental \u200bhealth benefits. CMS aims to ensure that federal dollars used \u200bfor supplemental\u2064 benefits are not solely used to attract enrollees.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, these proposed\u2063 regulations reflect the Biden administration&#8217;s dedication to improving Medicare \u2063Advantage plans, promoting competition, and expanding access to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-boebert-introduces-bill-to-defund-planned-parenthood\/\" title=\"Rep. Boebert Introduces Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood\">essential healthcare services<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How will\u2064 the proposed regulations address predatory \u2064marketing practices\u200b targeting \u200bMedicare beneficiaries and hold insurers and agents accountable for their marketing activities<\/h2>\n<p><span>  T the compensation to agents and brokers who sell Medicare Advantage plans. Currently, these\u2062 agents receive higher compensation for enrolling beneficiaries into \u2062plans that have \u2062higher payment rates from the government.\u200d This practice creates a financial incentive\u200b for agents to steer beneficiaries towards\u2064 more expensive plans, regardless \u200cof their\u200d actual\u200b healthcare needs. By capping\u2064 the compensation, the Biden administration aims to\u200d eliminate this bias and ensure that beneficiaries are guided towards the plan that best suits their needs and\u2062 preferences.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the proposed rule also \u2062includes measures to simplify and streamline the enrollment process\u2063 for beneficiaries. It \u200daims to create \u200ba more\u200d user-friendly enrollment experience, with clearer\u2062 information and \u200dfewer administrative burdens. This\u200d will make\u2063 it easier for beneficiaries\u2063 to compare different plans and make informed choices about their healthcare\u2064 coverage.<\/p>\n<h3>Combatting\u2064 Predatory Marketing Practices<\/h3>\n<p>In recent years, there \u2064have been growing concerns about predatory marketing practices targeting\u200c Medicare beneficiaries. Some\u2062 insurers and agents have been using deceptive tactics to\u200d mislead and\u2063 manipulate beneficiaries into enrolling in \u2063their\u200c plans. These practices \u2062often\u2063 involve disseminating inaccurate information about the coverage and benefits offered \u2064by the plans, in order to steer beneficiaries away\u200d from other potentially better options.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed regulations\u2064 seek to address these predatory marketing practices by implementing stricter oversight and enforcement measures.\u200d It aims \u200bto hold\u200c insurers and \u200dagents accountable for their marketing activities,\u2063 ensuring that they provide accurate and unbiased information to beneficiaries. \u2063Violations \u200dof the\u2062 rules could\u2064 result in penalties and\u2063 sanctions, including the suspension or termination \u200cof an insurer&#8217;s contract \u2063with Medicare.<\/p>\n<h3>Expanding\u200d Access to Supplementary Care Services<\/h3>\n<p>One of the \u200ckey goals of\u200b the proposed regulations is to expand access to supplementary care services for \u200bMedicare Advantage beneficiaries. Supplemental benefits, such as dental, vision, and hearing services, are not \u200ctypically\u200b covered by traditional Medicare. However, Medicare Advantage plans have the flexibility to include these \u2063additional \u200cbenefits.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed rule \u200baims to\u2063 encourage Medicare Advantage plans to offer more comprehensive and innovative supplemental benefits. It removes certain restrictions and expands the types of services \u2064that can be covered. This will provide beneficiaries with greater access to the care they need, improving their overall health\u2062 outcomes and quality of life.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The Biden administration&#8217;s proposed\u2062 regulations \u2064for Medicare Advantage plans reflect its commitment to ensuring that beneficiaries have access to high-quality care and \u2062unbiased information. By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-tackles-anti-competitive-behavior-with-medicare-advantage-plans\/\" title=\"Biden administration combats 'anti-competitive' actions in Medicare Advantage plans.\">addressing predatory marketing practices<\/a>, streamlining the \u2063enrollment process, and expanding access to supplementary care \u200cservices, these regulations \u200baim to empower\u200c beneficiaries to \u2063make informed decisions about \u200ctheir health coverage. As \u200bthe\u200b population\u200c of Medicare beneficiaries\u2064 continues to grow, it is crucial to establish regulations \u2064that \u2062promote competition, fairness, and improved \u2063access \u200dto care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Biden administration has introduced regulations for Medicare Advantage plans to enhance competition and improve access to supplementary care services. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, emphasized the importance of providing accurate and unbiased information to Medicare beneficiaries for making crucial decisions about their health coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2092126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2092125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2092125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2092126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2092125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2092125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2092125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}