By skyforbes 
As of April 2019, nearly twenty-two million Americans were covered by Medicare Advantage. According to America’s Health Insurance Plans, Medicare Advantage provides disease and care management services to reduce hospitalizations and improve care, an alternative to the traditional fee-for-service system currently in place. Medicare Advantage is a plan option under Medicare. It provides the same benefits as Medicare but encompasses
other services and includes coverage for prescription drugs, vision, hearing, and dental.
Medicare Advantage is an essential source for low-income and senior beneficiaries because of its affordability and high-quality coverage.
In April 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized policies that will increase plan choices to include telehealth benefits. This is a historic step for Medicare beneficiaries because, this policy will allow patients to access the latest telehealth technology thus providing them with more flexibility and better quality at a lower cost. Prior to this policy, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries had access to only a few telehealth services. These new telehealth benefits, signed by President Trump under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, will start in 2020. New telehealth benefits include the option for
Medicare and Medicaid patients to receive health care services remotely from places such as their home, therefore, reducing the requirement to visit a healthcare facility for health services. Additional advantages include expanding patients’ access to domestic providers despite whether the patient lives in an urban or rural setting.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will develop a methodology for calculating Star Ratings. Star Ratings provide information to consumers on plan quality. Updating the Star Rating methodology will enhance the stability and predictability of plans while also adjusting how ratings are set in the case of uncontrollable events.
Beneficiaries who are eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and participate in the Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) will also see an improvement in quality of care. Before the newly finalized policy, D-SNP beneficiaries would have to work with both Medicare and Medicaid organizations to file an appeal based on their complex health needs.
The new policy creates one appeal that can be processed across both Medicare and Medicaid systems thus allowing enrolls to navigate the healthcare system effortlessly with access to high quality services. The final rule in the policy will merge Medicare and Medicaid platforms to increase coordination of care for patients.
The Medicare Advantage policy is built on the 2020 Rate Announcement and Final Call Letter. To address social determinants of health, the Medicare Advantage plan will offer chronically ill patients a wider range of additional benefits that are not typically health related.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid are currently updating the Medicare Plan Finder so beneficiaries can see their new choices, benefits, and plans that fits their needs.
Story Written by Gabriel Spurlock, Desiree Raymond, Madeleine McCurdy-Buckner