Physician group practices that participate in new Medicare payment programs say proposed changes could push many doctors out of Medicare Advantage plan provider networks.
America's Physician Groups, an organization that represents 360 of the practices, predicts that the changes could slash pay for physicians who care for older, sicker Medicare Advantage plan enrollees by 10% to 20%.
"As a result, hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Medicare Advantage enrollees could lose needed access to care," the organization says.
The organization is calling for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the federal agency in charge of Medicare — to put off implementing the changes until 2025, at the earliest.
What It Means
If proposed changes work as America's Physician Group predicts, they could disrupt some clients' Medicare Advantage coverage and make use of Medicare supplement insurance more appealing.
The Basics
Medicare Advantage plans cover 30 million of the 65 million U.S. residents with Medicare coverage.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services uses a risk-scoring system to provide extra cash for plans that cover older, sicker patients.
