The Overpayment Cycle: Payments to Medicare Advantage
- July 17, 2023
- Positions and Publications
Flaws in the Medicare Advantage payment formula yield inflated plan payments that grow with enrollment. Plans use these additional dollars to offer services Original Medicare does not cover. They heavily and successfully market these “supplemental benefits,” boosting enrollment and triggering even more overpayments. Plans invest those funds to attract more enrollees, and the cycle begins again. This fact sheet explains this harmful pattern and what it means for Medicare solvency.
Produced with support from Arnold Ventures.
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