ASE Joins Comments on the CY 2027 Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs Proposed Rule

On January 26, ASE joined the Alliance of Specialty Medicine in submitting a letter to CMS addressing CY 2027 Medicare Advantage policy changes. The letter raises three critical concerns: widespread specialty provider terminations without explanation that leave beneficiaries unable to access care despite inadequate network adequacy standards; MA plans misrepresenting plan-initiated medical record requests as mandatory CMS audits, burdening practices with excessive documentation demands; and proposed removal of Star Ratings measures for appeals and complaints that provide the only incentive for plans to address access failures. The Alliance urges CMS to improve specialty network adequacy standards, establish guardrails for medical record requests, and retain critical quality measures.

These Medicare Advantage deficiencies directly threaten echocardiography practices’ ability to provide essential cardiac imaging services to Medicare beneficiaries. Arbitrary network terminations, excessive administrative burdens, and inadequate network adequacy standards that fail to distinguish cardiovascular subspecialties compromise timely access to advanced imaging services. ASE strongly supports the Alliance’s reform recommendations as essential to ensuring Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with cardiac conditions can access specialized echocardiography services and expert interpretation necessary for optimal care.