The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Advance Notice for the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Programs that would update payment policies for these programs.
The Advance Notice complements a proposed rule, also for CY 2025, that CMS released in November 2023 that would, if finalized, strengthen protections for the millions of people who rely on MA and Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. MA payments from the government to MA plans are expected to increase on average by 3.70 percent, or over $16 billion, from 2024 to 2025, as proposed.
CMS is also detailing improvements to the structure of the Medicare Part D drug benefit for CY 2025 that will result in lower drug costs for millions of people with Medicare through the concurrent release of the Draft CY 2025 Part D Redesign Program Instructions.
The Advance Notice and the Draft CY 2025 Part D Redesign Program Instructions are open for public comment, and CMS will accept comments through 6:00 PM Eastern Time on Friday, March 1, 2024. The CY 2025 Rate Announcement and the CY 2025 Part D Redesign Program Instructions will be published no later than April 1, 2024.
The CY 2025 Advance Notice may be viewed by going to: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Health-Plans/MedicareAdvtgSpecRateStats/Announcements-and-Documents and selecting “2025 Advance Notice.”
A fact sheet discussing the provisions of the CY 2025 Advance Notice, as well as frequently asked questions, can be viewed here: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2025-medicare-advantage-and-part-d-advance-notice-fact-sheet.
The Draft CY 2025 Part D Redesign Program Instructions can be found at https://www.cms.gov/files/document/draft-cy-2025-part-d-redesign-program-instruction.pdf - PDF.
A fact sheet discussing the provisions of the Draft CY 2025 Part D Redesign Program Instructions can be viewed here: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/draft-cy2025-part-d-redesign-program-instruction-fact-sheet.pdf - PDF.
