Veterans’ Medicare Advantage Enrollments Drive Cost Duplication
AJMC November 11, 2024
Key Takeaways
- Medicare-eligible veterans often enroll in MA plans but primarily use VHA services, causing federal spending inefficiencies.
- Wasteful MA spending rose from $838 million in 2016 to $1.32 billion in 2020 due to unused Medicare services.
- High-veteran MA plans, with over 20% veteran enrollment, contribute significantly to this inefficiency.
- Recommendations include refining CMS payment models and considering reimbursement policies for VHA plan spending from MA plans.
This research is not the first to uncover duplicative and wasteful spending on health care for veterans who receive care primarily through the Veterans Health Administration as they are also enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.
Despite automatically receiving health care coverage through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), many Medicare-eligible veterans continue...