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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 3, 2017

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515; jvanness@communityplans.net

STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY ON THE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE FINAL CALL LETTER

WASHINGTON – Margaret A. Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), made the following statement on the 2018 Medicare Advantage Final Call Letter:

“Safety Net Health Plans applaud the leadership of CMS to more accurately account for the unique challenges faced by health plans focused on serving members dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

We’re especially pleased to see that CMS is looking closely at some of the adjustments discussed in the recent reportfrom the office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) on the outsized role that social risk factors play in someone’s health.

“It’s worth highlighting, in fact, that the first finding of the report was ‘[b]eneficiaries with social risk factors had worse outcomes on many quality measures, regardless of the providers they saw, and dual enrollment status was the most powerful predictor of poor outcomes.’ This has significant implications for the way the Medicare Advantage program is administered, especially with respect to plans that serve dually eligible beneficiaries.

“Safety Net Health Plans have significant experience in addressing social determinants of health, and we look forward to continuing to work with CMS to adjust the Special Needs Plan program to better address the unique challenges faced by health plans serving dually eligible beneficiaries.”

About ACAP

ACAP represents 59 nonprofit Safety Net Health Plans in 28 states, which collectively serve more than seventeen million people enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Marketplaces and other publicly-supported health programs.

For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.

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