CMS’ TukeyGate Follow-up: Where Could CMS Go To Save On Medicare Stars?
After the TukeyGate court decisions that struck 2024 Medicare Advantage (MA) Star calculations, many are speculating where the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may now go to make up some of the increased costs in the Star program (see the TukeyGate blog here: https://www.healthcarelabyrinth.com/cms-tukeygate-lawsuit-decision-threatens-to-unravel-much-of-medicare-advantage-star-scoring-in-2024-and-2025-and-next-years-bids-and-benefits/ ). The increase in Stars could result in at least $1.3 billion in increased costs to Medicare in 2025. The lawsuit loss likely caught CMS by surprise, but the agency was right to recalculate and fix the major expected 2025 benefit declines in filed bids and benefits. I still think benefits will be reined in but the hurt on seniors and those with disabilities will be less. Given budgetary pressures and the major perception of overpayments in MA, CMS will be under pressure to find savings elsewhere over the next few years. Indeed, they wanted to implement Tukey in 2024 and get the Star