August 25, 2022 – Vizient offered comments in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Request for Information (RFI) on the Medicare Advantage (MA) Program. Vizient shared feedback on opportunities to strengthen the MA program and encouraged the agency to consider policies that would promote health equity, access to quality care, and affordable and sustainable healthcare.
To better ensure that all MA enrollees receive the care they need, Vizient recommended that CMS improve MA plan communications, utilize validated and standardized screening tools to support health equity, and consider using indices developed specifically to help address health inequities, such as the Vizient Vulnerability Index™ (VVI), for measurement efforts. Vizient also encouraged CMS to take immediate steps to improve the prior authorization (PA) process and other utilization management techniques to mitigate disruption to patient care and significant administrative burden and workload, among other issues.
Additionally, Vizient shared key survey insights that highlight the detrimental effects of plan-mandated white bagging policies on patients and providers, and encouraged CMS to address the barriers to affordable and sustainable care.
“Vizient members continue to make clear that white bagging practices and onerous prior authorization requirements risk patient safety and cause unnecessary operational burden,” said Shoshana Krilow, senior vice president of public policy and government relations for Vizient. “Vizient encourages CMS to consider the implications of these payer-mandated policies on providers and patients to ensure care is not compromised.”