The nation's largest physician specialty group is so frustrated by the harmful impacts Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have on their practices, it is asking CMS for major policy reforms in nine key areas.
In a position paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians urges CMS to strengthen oversight of plans -- especially given that 54% of beneficiaries are enrolled in an MA plan.
ACP is particularly worried about efforts to let private companies eventually take over all of Medicare.
"Preserving a robust, publicly administered traditional Medicare program could help ensure health equity, continuity of care, and meaningful beneficiary choice," the paper stated. "Privatization through unchecked MA expansion undermines these goals and risks transforming Medicare into a program where access to care is dictated more by administrative hurdles and profit motives than by patient needs."
"Medicare Advantage is not just a niche alternative anymore, and it's time we look seriously at policy reform," author Brian Outland, PhD, director of regulatory affairs at ACP, told MedPage Today.
