Addressing social needs through Medicare Advantage plans’ supplemental benefits—A potential not yet realized

One point of differentiation between the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, in which private plans are paid on a capitated basis by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and traditional Medicare, is that MA plans can offer additional supplemental benefits for their enrollees. In 2019, MA plans were given substantially expanded flexibility to offer these supplemental benefits to address services that were not considered traditionally health related, such as in-home support services and adult day care. With the implementation of the CHRONIC Care Act in 2020, MA plans were granted additional flexibility to offer supplemental benefits that address beneficiaries’ social needs, such as nonmedical transportation and meal services. While prior studies have found that the uptake of these benefits has been generally low, it is not well known how different MA plan types have embraced these benefits.