CMS reported it is releasing Part I of the 2022 Medicare Advantage Advance Notice to provide plans with earlier notification of proposed payment changes.
This announcement of Medicare Advantage and Part D payment methodologies is being made approximately three months earlier than usual to provide Medicare Advantage organizations and Part D sponsors more time to take this information into consideration as they prepare their bids for 2022. The earlier release will help Medicare Advantage and Part D plans to better address estimating 2022 plan costs, in light of the uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
CMS updates the methodology used to calculate payments made to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans through the agency’s Advance Notice and Rate Announcement process. The Advance Notice Part I includes information about Medicare Advantage risk adjustment for 2022 with a 60-day comment period. Other changes to payment methodologies for 2022 that are typically contained in the Advance Notice Part II only require a 30-day comment period and will be released at a later time. The Medicare Advantage and Part D payment policies for 2022, discussed in both Part I and Part II of the Advance Notice, will be finalized in the 2022 Rate Announcement published no later than April 5, 2021.
