CMS IDENTIFIES 15 CHRONIC CONDITIONS FOR MEDICARE
SPECIAL NEEDS PLANS
Beginning in 2010, Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (SNPs) that serve Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions must meet new guidelines issued today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Special needs plans are a type of Medicare Advantage plan that serve only beneficiaries living in institutions, eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, or living with severe or disabling chronic conditions. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) directed CMS to convene a panel of clinical advisors to determine the specific chronic conditions that met the MIPAA statutory definition of a severe or disabling chronic condition in regard to SNPs.
The panel's recommendations were based on public input and panelists' clinical experience, as well as the prevalence of these conditions among people with Medicare. The report can be found at www.cms.hhs.gov/SpecialNeedsPlans/.
To read the CMS press release issued today (11/13) click here: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp
