PALLONE AND NEAL URGE CMS TO INCREASE OVERSIGHT OF MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MARKET

Press Release

"Allowing Medicare Advantage plans to offer unreported bonus payments to their brokers can create misaligned incentives. We are concerned that these add-on payments are steering seniors into Medicare Advantage plans with the highest broker payment structure at the expense of plans that may be best suited for seniors' health needs."

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"We appreciate the efforts undertaken by CMS to address deceptive marketing and limit broker compensation. We urge the agency to take further action to protect the integrity of the Medicare program and its beneficiaries by regulating brokers' total compensation in the upcoming Contract Year 2025 Part C and D Policy and Technical Changes proposed rule. In particular, we urge CMS to require Medicare Advantage plans to report total broker compensation amounts, inclusive of any bonus administrative or incentive payments made to brokers."

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"[W]e urge the agency to reform total broker payments by including standardized limits on compensation. By ensuring broker payments are set at reasonable amounts, we remove incentives that encourage enrollment in plans with the highest broker payment that may not be best suited for seniors' health needs."

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