This week, we have two updates from Kaiser Family Foundation. The first is a brief providing a side-by-side comparison of the Medicare-related bills and proposals that would repeal the ACA. The second is an analysis of publicly available data to review the Medicare Advantage plans offered in 2017.
Comparison of Medicare Provisions in Recent Bills and Proposals to Repeal and Replace the Affordable Care Act | Kaiser Family Foundation | January 18, 2017
Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a top priority of the Trump Administration and the Republican leadership, and is a prominent issue on the agenda of the 115th Congress. The ACA includes many provisions affecting the Medicare program, and lawmakers have taken different approaches to the ACA’s Medicare provisions. Some proposals would fully repeal the ACA, including all Medicare provisions, while others would repeal other provisions of the ACA but retain most Medicare provisions.
This brief provides a side-by-side comparison of the Medicare-related provisions in six bills and proposals that would repeal the ACA, excluding proposals that would not directly affect Medicare.
Read the full comparison here.
Medicare Advantage Plans in 2017: Short-term Outlook is Stable | Kaiser Family Foundation | December 21, 2016
This spotlight analyzes publicly available data to review the Medicare Advantage plans offered in 2017, with information on including plan availability, premiums, out-of-pocket limits and other plan features:
- The average Medicare beneficiary will be able to choose from 19 plans in 2017, a number which has been relatively stable since 2012.
- The average beneficiary will be able to choose from plans offered by six firms; one-quarter of beneficiaries nationwide will have a choice of plans offered by three or fewer firms in 2017.
- If enrollees in Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PDs) stay in the same plan between 2016 and 2017, their premiums will increase by 4 percent, on average.
- While premiums have been relatively flat, average limits on out-of-pocket costs for Part A and B benefits have increased by 25 percent, since 2011 from $4,281 in 2011 to $5,332 in 2017.
- About four in ten (41%) plans are rated as 4 stars or higher in 2017. Since 2012, Medicare has paid bonus payments to Medicare Advantage plans with four or more stars.
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