Medicare Advantage
      
		    A new report from KFF reveals that Medicare Advantage enrollees had access to just 48% of the physicians available to Traditional Medicare beneficiaries in their area, on average, in 2022.
  
  The AHA Oct. 23 recommended changes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Wasteful and Inappropriate Services Reduction model to address multiple concerns.
  
  A report by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General found that many Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans offer access to a limited proportion of behavioral health providers, and inaccurately list 72% of in-network behavioral health care providers as…  
  Medicare open enrollment for 2026 began Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7.
  
  The AHA Oct. 3 responded to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s recent analysis on the financial impacts of Medicare Advantage enrollment growth on hospitals, which found that increased enrollment is not statistically associated, on average, with all-payer hospital margins.
  
  The AHA May 29 submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services responding to a request for information regarding Medicare Advantage data, urging CMS to increase oversight of the program.
  
  AHA comments on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s preliminary analysis of the association between Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment changes and hospital finances shared during the September public meeting. 
  
  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Sept. 30 issued a memo, through the Health Plan Management system, finalizing the Medicare Advantage Utilization Management Annual Data Submission requirements for MA organizations. 
  
  The AHA Sept. 29 sent recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help ensure insurance plans adhere to the agencies’ health insurer pledge to reform prior authorization processes. 
  
  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Sept. 26 that average premiums for Medicare Advantage and Part D would decline slightly in 2026. 
  
