Coding Intensity Options: The Perspective of Safety Net Health Plans

A new ACAP report highlights why policy changes to Medicare Advantage (MA) coding intensity must reflect the diversity of plans in the D-SNP and MA-PD space and emphasizes that effective coding intensity policies must balance achieving policy goals for accurate MA spending while also accounting for the heterogeneity in the MA and D-SNP markets.

Coding Intensity Options: The Perspective of Safety Net Health Plans, shares the following policy recommendations and options for consideration:

  • Continue Allowing D-SNPs to Submit Diagnostic Codes Obtained Through HRAs and Chart Reviews  
  • Assess Model Enhancements to Improve the Accuracy of the MA Risk-Adjustment Model and Reduce Reliance on Annual Diagnostic Capture  
    • Evaluate the Feasibility and Impact of Adding SDOH-related Metrics to the MA Risk-Adjustment Model  
    • Assess Inclusion of Two Years of Diagnostic Data for MA Payments  
    • Evaluate Adding a High-Cost Pool to the MA Risk-Adjustment Model  
  • Evaluate Replacing the Current Coding Intensity Adjuster with a Tiered Coding Adjustment System  

 

Read the report in full via the sidebar to the right.