[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 42, Volume 3]
[Revised as of October 1, 2006]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 42CFR422.4]

[Page 234-235]
 
                         TITLE 42--PUBLIC HEALTH
 
                    CHAPTER IV--CENTERS FOR MEDICARE
                          & MEDICAID SERVICES,
                        DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
                             HUMAN SERVICES
 
PART 422_MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart A_General Provisions
 
Sec.  422.4  Types of MA plans.

    (a) General rule. An MA plan may be a coordinated care plan, a 
combination of an MA MSA plan and a contribution into an MA MSA 
established in accordance with Sec.  422.262, or an MA private fee-for-
service plan.
    (1) A coordinated care plan. A coordinated care plan is a plan that 
includes a network of providers that are under contract or arrangement 
with the organization to deliver the benefit package approved by CMS.
    (i) The network is approved by CMS to ensure that all applicable 
requirements are met, including access and availability, service area, 
and quality.
    (ii) Coordinated care plans may include mechanisms to control 
utilization, such as referrals from a gatekeeper for an enrollee to 
receive services within the plan, and financial arrangements that offer 
incentives to providers to furnish high quality and cost-effective care.
    (iii) Coordinated care plans include plans offered by health 
maintenance organizations (HMOs), provider-sponsored organizations 
(PSOs), regional or local preferred provider organizations (PPOs) as 
specified in paragraph (a)(1)(v) of this section, and other network 
plans (except PFFS plans).
    (iv) A specialized MA plan for special needs individuals (SNP) 
includes any type of coordinated care plan that meets CMS'SNP 
requirements and either--
    (A) Exclusively enrolls special needs individuals as defined in 
Sec.  422.2; or
    (B) Enrolls a greater proportion of special needs individuals than 
occur nationally in the Medicare population as defined by CMS.
    (v) A PPO plan is a plan that has a network of providers that have 
agreed to a contractually specified reimbursement for covered benefits 
with the organization offering the plan; provides for reimbursement for 
all covered benefits regardless of whether the benefits are provided 
within the network of providers; and, only for purposes of quality 
assurance requirements in Sec.  422.152(e), is offered by an 
organization that is not licensed or organized under State law as an 
HMO.
    (2) A combination of an MA MSA plan and a contribution into the MA 
MSA established in accordance with Sec.  422.262. (i) MA MSA plan means 
a plan that--
    (A) Pays at least for the services described in Sec.  422.101, after 
the enrollee has incurred countable expenses (as specified in the plan) 
equal in amount to the annual deductible specified in Sec.  422.103(d); 
and
    (B) Meets all other applicable requirements of this part.
    (ii) MA MSA means a trust or custodial account--
    (A) That is established in conjunction with an MSA plan for the 
purpose of paying the qualified expenses of the account holder; and
    (B) Into which no deposits are made other than contributions by CMS 
under the MA program, or a trustee-to-trustee transfer or rollover from 
another MA MSA of the same account holder, in accordance with the 
requirements of sections 138 and 220 of the Internal Revenue Code.
    (3) MA private fee-for-service plan. An MA private fee-for-service 
plan is an MA plan that--
    (i) Pays providers of services at a rate determined by the plan on a 
fee-for-service basis without placing the provider at financial risk;
    (ii) Does not vary the rates for a provider based on the utilization 
of that provider's services; and
    (iii) Does not restrict enrollees' choices among providers that are 
lawfully authorized to provide services and agree to accept the plan's 
terms and conditions of payment.
    (b) Multiple plans. Under its contract, an MA organization may offer 
multiple plans, regardless of type, provided that the MA organization is 
licensed or approved under State law to provide those types of plans 
(or, in the case of a PSO plan, has received from CMS a waiver of the 
State licensing requirement). If an MA organization has received a 
waiver for the licensing requirement to offer a PSO plan, that waiver 
does not apply to the licensing

[[Page 235]]

requirement for any other type of MA plan.
    (c) Rule for MA Plans' Part D coverage. (1) Coordinated care plans. 
In order to offer an MA coordinated care plan in an area, the MA 
organization offering the coordinated care plan must offer qualified 
Part D coverage meeting the requirements in Sec.  423.104 of this 
chapter in that plan or in another MA plan in the same area.
    (2) MSAs. MA organizations offering MSA plans are not permitted to 
offer prescription drug coverage, other than that required under Parts A 
and B of Title XVIII of the Act.
    (3) Private Fee-For-Service. MA organizations offering private fee-
for-service plans can choose to offer qualified Part D coverage meeting 
the requirements in Sec.  423.104 in that plan.

[63 FR 35068, June 26, 1998, as amended at 65 FR 40315, June 29, 2000; 
70 FR 4714, Jan. 28, 2005; 70 FR 52026, Sept. 1, 2005]