Insights with Impact: Medicare Advantage Plans Expand Supplemental Benefits to Address Whole-Person Health

Abstract

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are allowed flexibility in designing supplemental benefits as part of the value-based insurance design (VBID) model. The Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center (CMMI) is piloting and assessing inventive approaches offered by MA plans that aim to improve health outcomes and reduce expenditures for beneficiaries. Accordingly, model participants have begun to implement payment reforms (APMs) and new delivery modes that address social determinants of health and chronic conditions. Trends in newly expanded supplemental benefits show enrollment growth in plans that offer an over-the-counter (OTC) benefit.