Washington, DC – The Strengthening Medicare Advantage through Innovation and Transparency for Seniors Act of 2015 (HR 2570) was passed by the US House of Representatives on June 17th. This bipartisan legislation includes a V-BID demonstration project that would allow Medicare Advantage plans to lower copayments and coinsurance for their beneficiaries, encouraging the use of high-value, evidence-based medical services to better manage chronic conditions. The legislation explicitly prevents plans from increasing beneficiary cost-sharing on any service. A bipartisan companion bill, Value-Based Insurance Design Seniors Copayment Reduction Act of 2015 (S.1396), was introduced to the Senate on May 20th.
This legislation coincides with a CMS Request for Information to Innovate Medicare that explicitly included V-BID.
