Florida Health News Examines Medicare Advantage Plan Payments In Florida

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 26 Mar 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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Florida Health News on Friday examined federal payment disparities among Medicare Advantage plans in Florida. According to a Florida Health News analysis, payments to MA plans in Miami-Dade County on average are 38% higher than payments in 24 other Florida counties and 50% higher than in a dozen other counties. The Office of Management and Budget in 2000 classified Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties as one metropolitan area because of economic and social similarities, but Palm Beach MA plans receive an average of $233 less than plans in Miami-Dade, and plans in Broward receive an average of $175 less than Miami-Dade plans.

According to Florida Health News, the disparity means that plans receiving higher payments in some counties can provide additional benefits -- including coverage of Medicare Part B premiums and no-cost transportation to physician appointments -- that are not available to beneficiaries enrolled in the same plan in a different county. Democratic Florida Reps. Robert Wexler, Alcee Hastings, Ron Klein and Tim Mahoney have asked Gov. Charlie Crist (R) to request that Medicare change the way it calculates payments for the counties (Jaffe, Florida Health News, 3/21).

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