With vital agent-broker compensation reform now stayed by a federal judge, CMS and Congress need to work together to pass these needed reforms. The status quo hurts Medicare Advantage and enrollees.
About The Podcast:
Millions of Americans feel confused and frustrated in their search for quality healthcare coverage.
Between out-of-control costs, countless inefficiencies, a lack of affordable universal access, and little focus on wellness and prevention, the system is clearly in dire need of change.
Hosted by healthcare policy and technology expert Marc S. Ryan, the Healthcare Labyrinth Podcast offers accessible, incisive deep dives on the most pressing issues and events in American healthcare.
Marc seeks to help Americans become wiser consumers and navigate the healthcare maze with more confidence and certainty through The Healthcare Labyrinth website and his book of the same name.
Marc is an unconventional Republican who believes that affordable universal access is a wise and prudent investment. He recommends common-sense solutions to reform American healthcare.
Tune in every week as Marc examines the latest developments in the space, offering analysis, insights, and predictions on the changing state of healthcare in America.
About The Episode:
On this episode, Marc discusses the vital agent-broker compensation reform that was stayed by a federal court judge. The reforms were important for integrity in the enrollment process and to safeguard Medicare Advantage. CMS and Congress need to work together to pass these needed reforms.
Key Takeaways:
Steerage deals between big Medicare Advantage plans and big brokers and marketing organizations hurt the integrity of the enrollment process.
Many complaints came in and members were enrolled in plans that were not in their best interests.
CMS tried to overhaul the system, but earlier changes were inadequate. A new rule would have capped overall compensation and banned incentive deals that steer members to plans.
A federal court struck down the rule as arbitrary and beyond CMS’ scope.
CMS and Congress should get together to legislate the changes. It is very important to ensure integrity in the enrollment process and not hurt MA’s value.
Meanwhile, some firms see the writing on the wall and are beginning to reform themselves and build transparent ways to show enrollees the best plans for them.
Technology will play a big role in taking opaqueness and complexity away.
Connect with Marc
Resources
The Healthcare Labyrinth: A Guide to Navigating Health Plans and Fixing American Health Insurance
