Medicare Advantage Plan Spending and Payments Under the Hospice Carve-Out

Do Medicare Advantage (MA) plans receive excess payments for beneficiaries enrolled in hospice under the hospice carve-out model?In this cross-sectional study, with 314 087 MA enrollees, MA plan payments exceeded plan spending for most beneficiaries following hospice election from 2017 to 2019, equating to an estimated $23 million to $58 million in excess payments to MA plans per year.In this study, MA plans continued to receive high premiums and rebate payments for beneficiaries enrolled in hospice despite low MA health care spending following hospice election.

Corresponding Author: Meghan Bellerose, MPH, Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health, 121 S Main St, Providence, RI 02903 (meghan_bellerose@brown.edu).

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