About 34 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans and these older people as well as people with disabilities depend on these plans to get access to quality healthcare at an affordable cost. MA plans offer additional coverage, such as dental care, preventive screenings, transportation assistance and other such care that is critical for maintaining the health of these seniors.
Recently, the CMS approved a 4.33 percent increase in the payment for MA plans with effect from 2026. This increase means approximately $21 billion will be added to the funds available to support MA plans, something that will go a long way towards ensuring that seniors keep getting the medical care that they need despite rising costs of healthcare.
In addition to ensuring affordability, MA also increases access. Research shows Latino and Black enrollees of MA plans say they face fewer barriers to healthcare on account of the costs involved. This improved access reduces the racial and socioeconomic disparities in accessing needed medical services.
Seniors usually require specialized care because of the chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, that they live with. MA plans help these individuals to have some predictability in terms of the costs they are expected to incur to receive the care they need. Otherwise, their out-of-pocket expenses would fluctuate wildly or spiral out of control, leading to significant difficulties in receiving the care that they need.
It is therefore commendable that the recent changes made to Medicare are tailored to provide stability in these plans so that beneficiaries continue to get the healthcare they require. Future changes also need to be premised on the need to ensure continuity of the plans without creating any uncertainty for seniors. The reality is that most seniors depend on a fixed income (pension or withdrawals from their retirement savings) and any healthcare cost increases can easily make these individuals face financial challenges that prevent them from affording the costs involved in maintaining their health.
Policymakers at all levels therefore need to ensure that the long-term stability of Medicare Advantage is protected so that the people who rely on these plans can continue benefiting from them. The lives of millions of people depend on this, and the number of beneficiaries keeps increasing with each passing year.
This continuity also helps policy providers like Astiva Health to keep doing what they do to improve healthcare access for minorities in the communities that they serve.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Astiva Health are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/Astiva
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