Medicare

On March 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of December 2023, over 66.8 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 34.2 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare, and over 32.6 million are enrolled in Medicare Advantage or other health plans. Over 85 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP. More than 77.9 million individuals have Medicaid, and over 7.1 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs.

The CMS National Training Program provides save the dates for their Medicare Program basics webinars. These webinars help those who assist people with Medicare make informed decisions about their 2024 health care coverage. The webinars will include different topics each day. Participants can attend one or both days, and space is limited. The webinars will be held on Tuesday, April 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. E.T and Wednesday, April 17 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. E.T.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released revised guidance detailing key requirements and procedures for calculating rebates and invoicing manufacturers that owe rebates to Medicare under the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program for certain drugs covered under Medicare Part B and Part D. CMS also released the list of 48 prescription drugs for which Part B beneficiary coinsurances may be lower between January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024. Some people with Medicare who take these drugs may save between $1 and $2,786 per average dose starting January 1, 2024, depending on their individual coverage.

On November 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would revise the Medicare Advantage (MA) Program, Medicare Part D, Medicare Cost Plan Program, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), and Health Information Technology Standards and Implementation Specifications. The proposed rule aims to strengthen beneficiary protections and guardrails to promote healthy competition and ensure MA plans best meet the needs of beneficiaries. It seeks to increase the percentage of dually eligible individuals enrolled in managed care who receive both Medicare and Medicaid services through the same organization...

On November 8, KFF released the issue brief, “Medicare Advantage 2024 Spotlight: First Look”, detailing the organization’s analysis of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and Part D prescription drug plans (PDPs) available in 2024. The analysis revealed that nationwide the typical beneficiary has a choice of 43 Medicare Advantage plans as an alternative to traditional Medicare for 2024; the same number available as in 2023, but more than double the number of plans offered in 2018. Of the 43 MA plans, 36 plans offer Part D drug coverage, on average. Additionally, individuals with traditional Medicare have a choice of 21 Medicare stand-along PDPs for 2024.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued the calendar year (CY) 2024 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update proposed rule. The proposed rule updates Medicare payment policies and rates for Home Health Agencies (HHAs) and other . Estimated Medicare payments to HHAs in CY 2024 would decrease in the aggregate by 2.2 percent, or $375 million compared to CY 2023, based on the proposed policies. The proposed rule also adds new quality reporting program measures, including a measure on the percent of patients/residents who are up to date with the COVID-19 vaccine, and proposes certain technical changes....

On Tuesday, June 29, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of March 2023, over 65.7 million people are enrolled in Medicare; nearly 34 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and more than 31.7 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 93.8 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 86.7 million individuals have Medicaid and more than 7.1 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs.

On March 31st, the Board of Trustees for Medicare released their most recent report to Congress on the financial operations and actuarial status of Medicare. The Trustees Report describes past and estimated future financial operations of the Hospital Insurance (HI) (Part A) and Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) (Part B and prescription drug coverage) trust funds. According to the report, the Medicare HI trust fund will have funds to pay for Part A benefits until 2031, three years longer than what was reported last year due to higher projected HI income and lower expenditures. However, the Trustees project deficits in the HI trust fund starting in 2025.

the MMCO submitted its FY 2022 Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office Report to Congress, as required by statute. Federal statute established the Federal Coordinated Health Care Office or MMCO within CMS to improve the coordination between the federal government and states to enhance access to quality services for individuals dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The report describes MMCO’s activities to better serve dually eligible individuals in 2022 and contains three legislative recommendations, which were proposed in the Presidents Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget.

CMS issued a proposed rule (CMS-1787-P) that would update Medicare hospice payments and the aggregate cap amount for FY 2024 in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. This rule includes information on hospice utilization trends and solicits comments regarding information related to the provision of higher levels of hospice care, spending patterns for non-hospice services provided during the election of the hospice benefit, ownership transparency, equipping patients and caregivers with information to inform hospice election decision-making selection, and ways to examine health equity under the hospice benefit. This rule also proposes conforming regulations text changes related to the expiration of the COVID-19 PHE.