More Disturbing Trends On Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization
In these pages I have bemoaned the fact that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Capitol Hill are taking the managed care out of Medicare Advantage (MA). MA’s value proposition is based on the plans’ ability to save dollars in furnishing traditional Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) benefits and passing on the savings in the form of reduced cost-sharing, filling in gaps in the traditional benefit, and adding additional benefits. But when CMS reins in the ability to save these dollars, it will have a direct impact on the benefits American seniors and people with disabilities see. What’s more, the antiquated FFS system is fraud-ridden and of poor quality. We need innovation not mimicking the old way of delivering care. But by hobbling MA plans’ innovation, CMS and Capitol Hill are setting MA and the overall healthcare system back. Driven by some strange need to ingratiate themselves to provider