The US federal government is set to revise this year’s quality ratings of private Medicare plans, according Wall Street Journal report.
This action could lead to substantial additional bonus payments for insurers in the next year, a welcome development for Medicare insurers grappling with escalating healthcare costs and lower-than-anticipated rates for the coming year.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to announce this decision soon.
Following the news, insurers Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM), Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC), Elevance Health Inc (NYSE:ELV), saw gains of 1.6% 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively.
The annual ratings determine the bonus payments that insurers receive in the following year. Recent court rulings have criticized the CMS for its ratings methods in cases filed by insurers SCAN Health Plan and Elevance Health.
Both SCAN, a non-profit organization, and Elevance, one of the largest Medicare insurers, were successful in their challenges of the CMS’ ratings calculations last week.
