MA Growth Drives Earnings Outlook Amid COVID Uncertainty
Insurers’ responses to the COVID-19 outbreak dominated recent first-quarter 2020 earnings calls, as did expected declines in utilization this quarter followed by a likely ramp-up of services later in the year, and...
MA Plans Have Unique Opportunity to Guide the Suddenly Uninsured
As seniors during the coronavirus pandemic face issues such as loneliness, social isolation and food insecurity, an added source of stress for some may be trying to enroll in Medicare, especially if they or their sp...
Trustees Say Pandemic Could Deplete Medicare Funds Sooner Than 2026
The Medicare Board of Trustees in its 2020 annual report projected that Medicare’s hospital insurance (HI) trust, which funds Part A payments, will be depleted by 2026, the same time frame the board pointed to in ...
CMS Extends Additional Flexibilities to Ensure MA, Special Needs Plan Care During Pandemic
As Medicare Advantage plans seek ways to address isolated members’ social determinants of health during the COVID-19 pandemic (see story, p. 1), new guidance from CMS allowing midyear benefit changes and other fle...
News Briefs
✦ Molina Healthcare, Inc. on April 30 said it entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Magellan Complete Care (MCC) for approximately $820 million, net of certain tax benefits. MCC is the managed care arm...
Medicaid MCOs Brace for COVID-Related Enrollment Surge
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate the news cycle, headlines related to rising unemployment often underscore the impact to Medicaid, suggesting that a “Record number of unemployed Americans will stress...
Amid Cost Unknowns, MAOs Will Get 1.66% Pay Increase
Facing a host of cost-related unknowns, Medicare Advantage organizations next year will be working with a slightly higher-than-expected pay increase, although CMS in its final MA and Part D rate notice made no adjus...
Telehealth Increase Underscores Need for MA Risk Adjustment
Just days after CMS mentioned in its final 2021 Medicare Advantage and Part D rate notice that it would issue separate guidance on the topic of telehealth and risk adjustment (see story, p. 1), the Trump administrat...
While MAOs Embrace ‘Flex Benefits,’ SSBCI Uptake Is Slow
After a relatively modest first year, the number of condition-specific supplemental benefits offered by Medicare Advantage plans more than doubled from approximately 820 in 2019 to 1,850 this year, according to a ne...
News Briefs
✦ UnitedHealth Group on April 15 reported first-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings per share of $3.72, in line with the same period last year, and maintained its full year EPS outlook in the range of $16.25 to $16.55...