For Immediate Release
July 23, 2025
Washington, DC – The Center for Medicare Advocacy is releasing a new resource, Medicare Advantage “Flex Cards” Update. This update expands on our earlier CMA Issue Brief about the “flex cards” offered by many Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Flex cards, sometimes called Over-the-Counter (OTC) cards, are essentially preloaded debit cards used by MA plans to provide certain supplemental benefits. This issue brief reviews needed consumer protections, shares recent policy developments, and highlights how flex cards are affecting beneficiaries.
This issue brief provides an update on beneficiary experiences with flex cards and public housing benefits. The previous issue brief outlined how some public benefit administrators were counting the dollar amounts on flex cards in the income and asset calculations for benefits, including federal rental assistance. “Residents of housing for older adults and people with disabilities contacted CMA after they saw their rent increase proportionally to their flex card amounts, even if they had not used their flex cards,” said Kata Kertesz, Managing Policy Attorney, CMA. “These rent increases were devastating for beneficiaries living on very limited incomes.”
The Department of Housing and Urban Development released clarifying guidance in January 2025. The agency explained that people in HUD rental-assistance programs who do not use their Flex Card benefits for rent or utilities should not have any portion of their Flex Card amounts counted toward their income. The recent HUD guidance has provided support for some beneficiaries receiving housing assistance, but confusion and inappropriate rental increases continue. Broader awareness and enforcement are still needed.
The CMA issue brief is available here.
Contact:
Matt Shepard, Communications Director
MShepard@MedicareAdvocacy.org
202-293-5760
About the Center for Medicare Advocacy: The Center for Medicare Advocacy (MedicareAdvocacy.org) is a national, nonprofit, non-partisan law organization that works to advance access to comprehensive Medicare coverage, health equity, and quality health care for older adults and people with disabilities through legal analysis, education, and advocacy.