Health insurance companies selling private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will pay a higher rate in 2026 if the incoming Trump administration adopts the Biden administration’s latest proposal.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday proposed to increase the average benchmark payment to private MA plans by 2.23 percent for 2026, compared to a modest cut by 0.16 percent for 2025.
Excluding a 2.1 percent risk score trend adjustment—used to estimate how plans code for patient illnesses—payments would increase by 2.23 percent.
The hike would equate to an additional $21 billion in payments to MA plans over the year. It would bolster revenue for companies such as UnitedHealthcare and Humana, which together account for almost half of all MA enrollment in 2024, serving 15.4 million people….