This week, our In Focus section reviews the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D landscape files for the 2020 plan year released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on September 24, 2019. These files include information on MA and Part D offerings, including premiums and benefit design. This year’s release signals continued growth for the MA program in 2020. Nationwide, the number of MA plans continues to increase, with 3,144 offerings, up from 2,741 in 2019. Among these plans, 2,832 will offer Part D coverage. CMS states that the average monthly plan premium is expected to decrease 14 percent to $23.00 in 2020 down from $26.87 in 2019. According to CMS, this is the lowest average monthly premium since 2007.
Notable growth occurred among all three types of Special Needs Plan (SNP) offerings (Institutional SNP (I-SNP), Chronic Condition SNP (C-SNP), and Dual Eligible SNP (D-SNP)), particularly D-SNPs. This significant growth in D-SNP plan offerings may be attributed to MA Organizations responding to CMS and state efforts to promote greater alignment of Medicare and Medicaid benefits for dual eligible beneficiaries. With the Financial Alignment Initiative (FAI) scheduled to end in 2020, some states and plans that have been participating in that demonstration may turn to D-SNPs as their primary strategy to continue care coordination and integration efforts for dual eligible beneficiaries.
HMA continues to analyze the 2020 MA and Part D landscape files and will also evaluate the new supplemental benefits for non-traditional medical services as soon as the 2020 data is available. For more information or questions about 2020 Medicare Advantage and Part D plan offerings, or about HMA’s Medicare Practice, please contact Mary Hsieh or Jon Blum.