Feds tweak Medicare Advantage pricing for 2017

WASHINGTON - Payments to insurers that offer Medicare Advantage plans won't be as high as initially expected. Medicare Advantage payments will increase 0.85%, on average, for 2017, and insurers will likely see overall revenue increases of 3.05%, according to news reports. Earlier this year, CMS had indicated that payments would increase 1.35% and that insurers would see overall revenue increases of 3.55%. As part of a final rule published this week, the Obama administration has also proposed several tweaks to the program, including changing the way the quality of plans is rated if they serve a large population of low income and disabled beneficiaries, and shifting the way plans are reimbursed if they take on sicker-than-expected beneficiaries, according to reports.