The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced changes to Medicare Advantage plans that are designed to spur greater competition, improve quality and lower costs to attract beneficiaries. 

The changes include customized plans based on beneficiaries’ chronic conditions and socioeconomic status, increased access to telehealth service and more incentives for seniors to improve their health. 

The changes will be tested out as part of the Value Based Insurance Design (VBISD model for 2020. Eligible plans in all 50 states will be able to apply for the innovations, according to a CMS fact sheet.

According to McKnight's Long-Term Care News, CMS will also start testing the inclusion of hospice benefits as part of Medicare Advantage in 2021, and the plans to extend the performance period of its VBID model another three years, to 2024, to sufficiently evaluate the impact of these changes.