US Medicare lays out regions for coverage

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U.S. Medicare officials said on Monday they will divide U.S. coverage areas into 26 regions as part of the agency’s efforts to have private insurers cover more of the nation’s elderly.

Also as part of the new Medicare modernization law, the agency created 34 regions for the new prescription drug coverage.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) officials had been debating whether to create between 10 and 50 regions. 

Insurers and other companies, which will have to provide services to an entire region, had been pushing for more, smaller regions.

CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said officials weighed area populations with industry interests in creating coverage regions for the private plans, called Medicare Advantage.

“We particularly wanted to make sure there will be plenty of opportunities for beneficiaries who live in rural communities to have access to lower-cost health plans,” McClellan said.

Both the plans and the drug coverage were mandated by the new Medicare modernization law passed last year. The regions do not affect other Medicare plans. 

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