Federal Enforcement Actions Against Medicare Advantage Plans Highlighted by Brown University Study
A recent study conducted by the Brown University School of Public Health has shed light on federal enforcement actions against Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. The research, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, analyzed enforcement actions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from 2010 to 2023. The study found that enrollment in MA plans has increased significantly, now covering over half of Medicare beneficiaries and receiving more than $494 billion in annual federal payments. The study examined 1,173 unique MA contracts and identified 844 enforcement actions, including civil money penalties, suspension of enrollment, and contract termination. The majority of these actions were monetary penalties, accounting for 87.3% of the total. The study highlighted that enforcement actions varied widely across the years, with financial penalties peaking at $6.50 per enrollee in 2019. The research concluded that the current design of oversight and enforcement actions may be insufficient to ensure compli... 
