The lesson Medicare Advantage plans can learn from the ’90s
Becker's Healthcare September 3, 2024
The challenges Medicare Advantage insurers are facing now aren’t without precedent, according to an analysis from OliverWyman.
In the late 1990s, Medicare+Choice, the precursor to Medicare Advantage faced rising medical costs and lowered reimbursements. According to OliverWyman, an advisory firm, lawmakers capped reimbursement increases at 2% annually, while healthcare inflation costs grew between 5% and 10%.
Between 1998 and 2002, the number of Medicare+Choice contracts shrank from nearly 350 to 147. Several insurers exited the program entirely.
Insurers that embraced “rigorous financial discipline” stayed in the program, analysts wrote.
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