The disparities in healthcare access and outcome are stark between urban and rural populations. As a result, rural healthcare has been a persistent challenge that policymakers, healthcare providers, and nonprofit organizations have been trying to address for years. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have a pivotal role to play in ensuring that rural Americans are not left behind in healthcare access. Given the formidable challenges of rural healthcare, this article will explore Medicare Advantage improvements that CMS has proposed for 2024 with insights from recent studies and reports https://www.medicareadvantageplans2024.org/
Medicare Advantage has increasingly become an attractive option for seniors as it offers several benefits compared to traditional Medicare. For instance, it includes coverage under Part A (hospital insurance), Part B (medical insurance), and frequently includes Part D (prescription drug coverage.). Even more interesting, it also includes additional benefits such as dental care, hearing aids, vision care, and fitness programs. In 2019, CMS announced the creation of new payment models to promote high-quality, affordable rural healthcare. These new models offered incentives for strategic care management and flexibility for rural areas to tailor care-delivery approaches for improved outcomes.
In October 2021, CMS proposed significant improvements to Medicare Advantage for 2024, which might particularly benefit rural beneficiaries’ access to healthcare. These proposals aimed to address long-standing concerns around racial and economic disparities in accessing healthcare in rural areas. For instance, one of the proposals enables Medicare Advantage providers to offer coverage for telehealth programs, aiming to reduce geographical and financial barriers to care. Furthermore, the proposed improvements endeavor to extend and enhance benefits for seniors, including chiropractic care, occupational and physical therapy, transportation support, and other services that may not be available under traditional Medicare.
While CMS’s proposed Medicare Advantage improvements show promise for improving rural healthcare access, questions remain regarding their implementation. However, recent data suggests that well-designed Medicare Advantage plans indeed hold potential for improving access to health care among rural residents. A study conducted by the Better Medicare Alliance in partnership with the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy affirmed that rural beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage had better health outcomes than those enrolled in traditional fee-for-service Medicare. The study found that rural Medicare Advantage beneficiaries had lower hospital readmission rates and lower mortality rates for certain conditions.
Recently, CMS has also approved several state proposals to launch dual-eligible special needs plans. These plans serve the roughly 12 million seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. CMS’s approval of these proposals underscores the importance of offering comprehensive care delivery models that target vulnerable populations like low-income seniors aged 65 or older.
The proposed changes for 2024 also aim to increase access to primary care doctors, specialists, and other healthcare providers which can add another benefit to rural residents. Rural residents experience a shortage of primary care physicians and medical providers. Though telemedicine can be helpful, nothing compares to having a provider that accepts the Medicare Advantage policy right in the patient’s hometown. Thus, expanding provider networks for those in rural areas is another welcomed change with this proposal.
Conclusion:
CMS’s proposed changes to Medicare Advantage in 2024 look promising for rural Americans who have long struggled with healthcare access. However, the full impact of this proposal remains to be seen in rural areas, but it’s time for organizations, medical providers, and policymakers to reflect on how to work together to ensure that CMS’s proposed improvement does not leave anyone behind. To maximize the proposed benefits, policymakers, healthcare providers, and residents themselves should include their voices in decisions about how to implement the new healthcare plans. Strides toward more accessible and high-quality rural healthcare must continue, and this proposal is one major step in the right direction.
