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July 12, 2006 at 04:24 PM
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be trying to adding more flexible medical savings accounts to the Medicare program in 2007.
The CMS is asking for proposals from companies that want to offer Medicare beneficiaries high-deductible plans that would give beneficiaries a chance to keep unused account assets at the end of the year.
The demonstration program would serve individual Medicare beneficiaries and retiree plans sponsored by employers that already offer health savings account plans to active employees, CMS officials say.
Medicare already has a small MSA program, and Medicare’s total payment to the new MSA plans will be the same as under current rules for Medicare Advantage MSA plans, officials say.
But the new MSA plans will be more flexible and more like HSAs, and that should increase their appeal to beneficiaries, officials say.
