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New MA And Part D Rule Issued As Parting Policy Shot By Biden Administration The Biden administration issued its draft 2026 Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D rule today. A draft is available, but the Federal Register indicates the rule was pulled back for additional clarifications and would be reposted on December 10. Due to its late posting, the rule would not be finalized before the Trump administration takes office and therefore could simply be revamped rather than be rescinded. In some ways, the rule does not have some of the mega changes that some expected in the areas of Star, risk adjustment, and more. This could be due to some sensitivity to the current financial woes of the MA industry. But there is plenty for the industry to object to. I have not done a thorough read yet of the 700-plus page draft rule, but I will do so

Media Attacking Trump Healthcare Picks As Contrarians The mainstream media are busy attacking Donald Trump’s healthcare picks as public health and healthcare contrarians. They worry the administration could aim to set vaccine policy that is outside of the so-called mainstream. So far, Trump has named the following to lead key agencies: The media are less concerned about Oz and Makary and most concerned with Kennedy and Weldon. Some of the criticism is unfair, especially toward Makary. During the COVID years, Makary stood out as a man of science and great educator, calling out the need for COVID vaccines for those most vulnerable to the virus but reasonably pushing back on COVID vaccine hysteria and other excesses. Additional article: https://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/view/trump-names-picks-for-top-jobs-at-fda-and-cdc-and-also-surgeon-general  (Article may require a subscription.) #healthcare #trump #election2024 #hhs #cms #fda https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/donald-trump-health-nominees-vaccines-fda-marty-makary-cdc-dave-weldon Hospital Price Transparency Dropping Not Increasing New findings by Patient Rights Advocate finds that just 21.1% of hospitals are

CMS Loses Again In Court On Stars A just released court decision gives the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) yet another defeat on how the agency runs the Stars program. Judge Jeremy Kernodle, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, ruled CMS violated the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946 by improperly reviewing UnitedHealth Group’s health plan call center ratings. The judge was rather biting in his assessment. He said that CMS creates the guidelines, identifies the phases, and specifies the criteria for the call center metrics. He concluded that the responsibility for any unreasonable or absurd outcomes therefore lies with the agency not plaintiffs. Other lawsuits have been filed by Humana, Centene and Elevance Health. This could likely lead to recalculations for many plans, although it will not rise to the mass recalculation we saw in 2024. CMS says it is looking to deprioritize

Commonwealth Study Covers The Underinsured A very important study from The Commonwealth Fund found that close to a quarter of people who have health coverage are underinsured. This is consistent with other findings that put the number of uninsured and underinsured at about 85 million Americans. In essence, the underinsured are Americans that have coverage but, in many ways, have a hard time accessing the benefits due to high out-of-pocket costs. In my book, The Healthcare Labyrinth (available at this site), I discuss that affordable universal access is needed to address both the uninsured and underinsured crisis. The Commonwealth Fund polled a national sample of adults aged 18 to 64 and found that 23% are underinsured. Most (about 66%) are in employer-sponsored health plans. About 14% were in individual or Exchange plans and 11% were in Medicaid. About 57% who were underinsured said they skipped care because of the cost. About