Biden administration seeks to crack down on private Medicare health plans

The Biden administration is proposing a fresh crackdown on private health plans that have grown to cover half the people on Medicare, restricting marketing practices as part of an effort to help consumers in the federal insurance system for older and disabled Americans get the health services they need.

Older Americans choosing Medicare coverage “should not be subject to practices playing fast and loose with marketing rules,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said during aThe proposed rule marks the second time in a year that the administration has sought to stiffen regulation of Medicare Advantage, the private-sector version of Medicare that has soared in popularity in recent years.

Specifically, the proposed rules would establish guardrails more firmly restricting the compensation of insurance agents and brokers who advise Medicare customers, setting a fix amount for such advice, no matter which plan a consumer chose. Currently, there are caps but some companies pay agents and brokers lavish extras, such as golf trips for steering business to them, Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters during Monday’s briefing.

benefits remain available to them. According to an HHS fact sheet, a typical Medicare Advantage plan offers 23 health benefits not found in traditional Medicare, but usage is low. The proposal’s goal is to “ensure that the large federal investment of taxpayer dollars in these benefits is actually making its way to beneficiaries and are not primarily used as a marketing ploy,” the HHS document says.

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