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Spring 2020  Volume 13, Number 1        
 

This Just In ...

What MACRA Means to Medicare Recipients

If you have Medicare coverage, check to see if your Medicare card lists your Social Security Number (SSN), because if it does, your claims will be rejected.

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to remove SSNs from all Medicare beneficiary ID cards and issue new cards with a Medicare Beneficiary Identification (MBI) number. The Act required CMS to accomplish this by April 2019. The new MBI should help to better protect users' private health care and financial information, as well as federal health care benefit and service payments.

MACRA is the biggest change to physician reimbursement since Medicare was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965.

MACRA also:

  • Repeals the Sustainable Growth Rate formula
  • Changes the way Medicare rewards clinicians, emphasizing value over volume
  • Streamlines programs under the new Merit Based Incentive Payments System
  • Gives bonus payments to providers that participate in alternative payment models (APMs)
  • Gives awards to seven applicants for their financial and technical support of the Quality Payment Program, which is an incentive program that focuses on providing clients with quality care instead of volume of care.

The downside of these changes is that there will be major increases in premiums for some plans, in particular Medicare supplement plans G and F. Plus, more increases will follow as a greater percentage of the population ages (the "Silver Tsunami") and more people reach Medicare eligibility.

 

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In this issue:

This Just In...

How Life Insurance Works in Divorce Settlements

Life Insurance and the High Cost of Vaping

Retirement Financial Planning: How to Set Realistic Goals

How Accident and Disability Insurance Differ

 


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