Heads Up: Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model ending in 2025

@CBtoo 

These are a SPECIFIC type of Medicare Advantage plans for certain people with chronic disease. 

CMS.gov - Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model 

Background on Medicare Advantage (MA)

MA plans offer Medicare beneficiaries an alternative to Traditional Medicare. In addition to covering all Medicare services, some MA plans also offer enrollees extra coverage through supplemental benefits such as vision, hearing, and dental services. Some MA plans may offer prescription drug coverage (Part D) as part of their plan.

MA plans can charge different out-of-pocket costs for certain services within guidelines defined by Medicare. Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) generally refers to health insurers’ efforts to structure cost-sharing and other health plan design elements to encourage enrollees to use the services that can benefit them the most.

Currently, Medicare beneficiaries may enroll into MA and have access to all Traditional  Medicare benefits plus additional supplemental benefits beyond what original Medicare covers. Historically, when an MA enrollee elects hospice, Traditional Medicare becomes responsible for most services while the MA organization retains responsibility for certain services (e.g., supplemental benefits). This hospice “carve-out” from MA results in a convoluted set of coverage rules for MA enrollees who elect hospice and fragments accountability for care and financial responsibility across the care continuum that the Hospice Benefit Component of the VBID Model seeks to address.

.. . . For Calendar Year (CY) 2025, the VBID Model has 62 participating Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) projecting to offer over seven million enrollees additional Model benefits and/or rewards and incentives as part of the Model test in 2025.

more at the link ~

The model was being tested by CMS -  like I said in my info post - some (or all)  of  the benefits that were included in the VBID will be available in other special plans for those who qualify based on their chronic disease category.

CMS was the government agency that began the defined plan design, the yearly testing of the affects and now, the termination of such as was planned - this was just a reminder for those who have such a plan (or their representative) to take action for 2026.