The latest Healthcare Labyrinth podcast outlines the 2026 rate and policy changes for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.
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 covers the recently released Advance Notice, which outlines the 2026 rate and policy changes for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.
Key Takeaways:
The 2026 Advance Notice was released by CMS outlining 2026 rate and policy changes for Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plans.
The notice will be finalized in April.
CMS says MA rates will increase by 4.33%, but plans will likely say they will be up more like 2.23% due to a debate over risk scoring trends year-to-year.
While this is positive compared with 2024 and 2025, the rates are inadequate and could lead to further benefit reductions and plan contractions in 2026.
The growth rate for rates was almost 6%. But this was substantially offset by lower Star rating revenue and the final phase-in of a risk model change. A phase-in of medical education costs changes also hurt rates.
CMS said it may begin transitioning to setting rates by encounter data submitted by plans.
MA plans hope that the incoming Trump administration will offer some rate relief.
But Trump is busy assembling spending reductions to pay for the extension of 2017 tax cuts.
Connect with Marc
Resources
The Healthcare Labyrinth: A Guide to Navigating Health Plans and Fixing American Health Insurance
