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2022 Medicare Advantage plan Maximum Out-Of-Pocket (MOOP) limits are changing and can reach $7,550.

Category: Annual Medicare Plan Changes
Published: Oct, 02 2021 09:10:12


Your Medicare Advantage plan's Maximum Out-of-Pocket (MOOP) threshold limits how much you will spend on healthcare co-payments and co-insurance for eligible Medicare Part A (in-patient or hospitalization) and Medicare Part B (out-patient or doctor visit) coverage.  A higher MOOP limit means you will spend more out-of-pocket for your Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B covered services before reaching the annual maximum cost threshold.

Each year MOOP limits can change and, starting back in 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allowed Medicare Advantage plans to increase their Maximum Out-of-Pocket limit to $7,550 from the 2020 MOOP limit of $6,700.  Based on these annually established MOOP limits, each Medicare Advantage plan then sets their plan's MOOP (see below for an explanation) — with the approval of CMS.

And this means:  If you have high healthcare expenses, you may want to look for an increase in your Medicare Advantage plan's out-of-pocket spending limit.  If you find that your MOOP is increasing, you may wish to search for another Medicare Advantage plan having a lower MOOP limit ($3,450 or less). In short, the higher the MOOP limit, the higher your covered healthcare total expenses can be for the year. However, on a positive note, your Part A & Part B expenses will not exceed $7,550 for in-network Medicare cost-sharing (remember, this does not include Part D prescription drug expenses).

In-network vs. Out-of-network MOOP

The MOOP limit is a cap on your out-of-pocket expenses and applies to in-network Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B eligible medical cost-sharing.  Please note that local and regional PPO Medicare Advantage plans can have a combined maximum MOOP of $11,300 (for in-network and out-of-network coverage).

The range of in-network 2022 MOOP thresholds

The 2022 Medicare Advantage MOOPs range from $0 to $7,550 — and often Medicare Advantage plans with a MOOP of $0 are Medicare Advantage PFFS plans, MSAs, or Cost plans.  The following chart shows how the MOOP range has changed from 2018 through 2022.  Our chart excludes $0 MOOP plans. Remember, the $7,550 maximum MOOP began in 2021 (as compared to $6,700 in previous years) and the voluntary MOOP of $3,450 also began in 2021 (as compared to $3,400 in previous years).

Analysis of how Maximum out of pocket limits have changed for Medicare Advantage plans


As reference, you can see each Medicare Advantage plan's MOOP using our 2022 Medicare Advantage Plan Finder (MA-Finder.com/2022) or you can browse through the states/counties via our 2022 Overview by State.

The 2022 MOOP dispersion:  Different out-of-pocket limits for different Medicare Advantage plans

We found that across all 2022 Medicare Advantage plans, only 162 plans increased their MOOP, 2,624 plans kept the same MOOP as last year, and 660 plans reduced the plan's MOOP limit.

When MOOP is evaluated across all Medicare Advantage plans (excluding MMPs and SNPs which do not have a MOOP), we see a decrease in the average 2022 MOOP limit.  The 2022 average MOOP is around $5,164 as compared to $5,337 in 2021.


The table below illustrates some of the more frequently occurring 2022 MOOP limits across all types of Medicare Advantage plans.  Note that 76% of 2022 Medicare Advantage plans have a MOOP over $3,450 compared to 78% in 2021.


Top 2022 MOOP Limits for Medicare Advantage Plans

  Number of Medicare Advantage Plans
(MA & MAPD)
MOOP Limits 2022 2021 Change ’21 to ‘22 Percent 2020 2019
$6,700 520 572 -52 -9% 979 947
$7,550 513 575 -62 -11% 0
0
$3,400 267 267 0
0% 410 365
$5,900 250 216 34 16% 232 189
$4,900 207 220 -13 -6% 167 160
$4,500 203 164 39 24% 121 107
$5,500 186 153 33 22% 142 130
$3,450 184 178 6 3% 1 1
$3,900 163 117 46 39% 96 42
$5,000 134 121 13 11% 92 89




Medicare Advantage plans may set their MOOP threshold as any amount within the ranges shown in the CMS table below.  As an example, HMO plans can set their plan's MOOP as high as $7,550; however, an HMO plan that sets MOOP within the voluntary range ($0 - $3,450) is granted greater flexibility for individual service category cost-sharing. 

2022 Voluntary and Mandatory
MOOP Range by Type of Medicare Advantage plan
Plan Type Voluntary Mandatory
HMO $0 - $3,450 $3,451 - $7,550
HMO POS $0 - $3,450 In-network $3,451 - $7,550 In-network
Local PPO $0 - $3,450 In-network and
 $0 - $5,150 Combined
$3,451 - $7,550 In-network and
$3,451 - $11,300 Combined
Regional PPO $0 - $3,450 In-network and
$0 - $5,150 Combined
$3,451 - $7,550 In-network and
$3,451 - $11,300 Combined
PFFS (full network) $0 - $3,450 Combined $3,451 - $7,550 Combined
PFFS (partial network) $0 - $3,450 Combined $3,451 - $7,550 Combined
PFFS (non-network) $0 - $3,450 $3,451 - $7,550

Important: In-network MOOP and out-of-network MOOP

As can be seen in the table above, out-of-network cost-sharing expenses may fall into a higher MOOP (for example, see Regional PPO above with a higher "combined" MOOP limit) or (IMPORTANT!) your out-of-network cost-sharing may not count toward your MOOP limit, as with the HMO POS plan type.  Please notice that the voluntary and mandatory 2022 MOOP limits increased slightly over the 2021 figures. 

Question:  How are the voluntary and mandatory MOOP limit set?

The voluntary and mandatory MOOP limits are set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  Per CMS, the mandatory MOOP amount represented approximately the 95th percentile of projected beneficiary out-of-pocket spending.  In other words, five percent of Original Medicare beneficiaries are expected to incur approximately $7,550 or more in Parts A and B deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance.  The voluntary MOOP amount of $3,450 represents approximately the 85th percentile of projected Original Medicare out-of-pocket costs.

MOOP and Special Needs Plans (and MMPs)

You may notice that Medicare Advantage MMP (Medicare-Medicaid plans) and Special Needs Plans, such as for dual Medicare/Medicaid eligible beneficiaries (D-SNPs), do not have a MOOP.

Reminder about Medicare Advantage MOOP and Part D Drug Plan TrOOP

Your Total Out-of-Pocket Limit (TrOOP) for your Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage is not the same as your Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B Maximum Out-of-Pocket (MOOP).  (For more information, please see our Frequently Asked Question: TrOOP is not MOOP.)

Bottom Line:  Please review your 2022 Medicare Advantage plan's coverage information to learn more about your plan's MOOP.   You should be able to find your 2022 MOOP in your plan's 2021/2022 Annual Notice of Change letter (ANOC).  You can also telephone your current Medicare Advantage plan using the toll-free Member Services number found on your Member ID card for more information.

Need additional assistance?  Please call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 and speak with a Medicare representative about Medicare plans that are available in your service area.

You can see more 2022 Medicare Part D plan changes using our MA-Compare tool found at: MA-Compare.com/2022 or Browse Medicare Advantage or Part D plans by state and county.







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