https://mailchi.mp/d73a73774303/the-weekly-gist-may-27-2022?e=d1e747d2d8

A recent piece in JAMA argues that policymakers need to be proactive in addressing how the rise of MA enrollment will affect the Medicare program as a whole, including its role in national quality and utilization measurement, rural healthcare access, and graduate medical education. The ability to monitor care delivered to the traditional, fee-for-service Medicare beneficiary population has been critical for assessing cost growth and shifting care patterns, distributing subsidies, and basing MA payments—all things that will become increasingly difficult as traditional Medicare becomes both smaller and less representative of the entire Medicare population.  

The Gist: Traditional Medicare has been a springboard for national healthcare policy goals and industry-wide innovations. However, consumers’ preference for, and policy shifts supporting, the growth of Medicare Advantage are proving to be unstoppable.

Providers must prepare for a future in which a shrinking minority of beneficiaries are enrolled in traditional Medicare. If current trends continue, Medicare policymakers must bolster ongoing support for medical education, and build a higher standard of transparency and quality reporting for MA carriers and providers to maintain the sustainability of one of the country’s greatest healthcare data resources.