Medicare & CMS Programs

The Trump administration’s CMS finalized a 2.48% Medicare Advantage payment increase for 2027, reinforcing near-term revenue stability for MA plans while keeping pressure on bids, Star Ratings performance, coding integrity, and supplemental-benefit strategy as plans decide whether to “reset or retreat” from margin-challenged markets (MA payment update). In CMMI’s specialty model portfolio, Interwell Health reported savings and top quality scores in the Kidney Care Choices Model, strengthening the case for nephrology-focused total-cost-of-care arrangements even as stakeholders assess whether the WISeR prior-authorization model will survive policy and provider pushback (KCC results.