In collaboration with several advocacy partners, CMA submitted comments to a proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) titled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2027 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program” at 90 Fed Reg 54894 (Nov. 28, 2025) (CMS-4212-P). This proposed rule would make changes to MA and Part D starting in 2027.
CMA’s comments included the following issues:
- Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for Provider Terminations – CMA supported a proposal by CMS to broaden a current SEP by no longer requiring a “significant provider network change” to trigger the SEP right
- Proposals to Roll Back Important Consumer Protections Surrounding the Sale of Medicare Advantage and Part D plans – CMA expressed our opposition to CMS’ proposals to, among other things:
- Removing reference to State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) in disclaimers required of third-party marketing organizations (TPMOs) – see accompanying CMA Alert this week excerpting our comments in support of SHIPs, available here.
- Rescinding the 12-hour delay between educational and marketing events by plans, agents and brokers
- Rescinding the 48-hour delay between completing a Scope of Appointment (SOA) form and a marketing visit with an agent/broker
- Rescinding prohibition on collected SOA forms at educational events
- Rescinding Requirement that MA plans issue a Notice of Availability concerning language assistance and auxiliary aids, instead deferring to the HHS Office of Civil Rights regarding management of any requirements concerning language assistance and auxiliary aides – CMA expressed our opposition to this proposal
- Adding, Updating and Removing Star Ratings Measures – CMA expressed support for adding “Depression Screening Follow-Up” as a new measure and encouraged CMS to add “Integration of SUD Treatment” as a measure, but expressed opposition to several proposals, including: removal of the Health Equity Index (HEI) reward and replacing it with the historical reward factor; removing quality metrics measuring whether Medicare Advantage Plans provide access to foreign language interpreters and Deaf communication access (via TTY); eliminating measures of how plans respond to appeals of claim denials; and removing the “Members Choosing to Leave the Plan” measure
- Proposals to improve a state’s ability to engage in oversight of Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs), which CMA supported
- Rescission of Medicare Advantage Mid-Year Supplemental Benefits Notices, which CMA opposes
CMA’s full comments are available at medicareadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/CMA-comments-CD-2027.pdf
January 29, 2026 – D. Lipschutz