Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicare Releases Details From Review Of Advantage Plan Directories' Accuracy
PBS NewsHour: Care Provider Directories Wrong Nearly Half The Time In Medicare Advantage Plan Lists
As Congress continues to move toward repealing part or even all of Obamacare, it’s not surprising that other health care news has fallen off our radar. Last week, however, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency that oversees Medicare, released some very upsetting results of a study that reviewed the accuracy of the directories of health care providers in the networks used by Medicare Advantage plans. (Moeller, 1/18)
Kaiser Health News: 21 Medicare Health Plans Warned To Fix Provider Directory Errors
Federal officials this month warned 21 Medicare Advantage insurers with high rates of errors in their online network directories that they could face heavy fines or have to stop enrolling people if the problems are not fixed by Feb. 6. Among the plans that were cited are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Highmark of Pennsylvania, SCAN Health Plan of California as well as some regional plans owned by national carriers such as UnitedHealthcare and Humana. (Galewitz and Jaffe, 1/18)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Announces New Participants For Alternative Payment Models In 2017
The CMS expects 359,000 clinicians to participate in four alternative payment models this year, the agency said Wednesday, touting those numbers as evidence of success in shifting away from fee-for-service and into value-based care. Those alternative payment models include accountable care organizations—the Medicare Shared Savings Program, the Next Generation ACO Model and the Comprehensive End-Stage Renal Disease Care Model—and the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus Model. (Whitman, 1/18)
