Medicare Advantage's $16 Billion Quality Bonus Program: Litigation, Reform, and Rising Costs episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 21, 2026 · 18 MIN

Medicare Advantage's $16 Billion Quality Bonus Program: Litigation, Reform, and Rising Costs

from Health Affairs This Week · host Health Affairs

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Erica Socker of Georgetown University to the pod to discuss her recent Forefront article that explores how the Medicare Advantage quality bonus program is working in the wake of a Clover Health-CMS lawsuit over star ratings. They discuss the court’s ruling, CMS’s policy response, and why the case could become a catalyst for broader reforms to a program that now distributes billions of dollars annually. Related Links:Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Program: Court Decisions Spotlight Flaws (Health Affairs Forefront)Sign up for Health Affairs' free newsletter to catch up on our new articles, podcasts, and events. Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 21, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Medicare Advantage's $16 Billion Quality Bonus Program: Litigation, Reform, and Rising Costs

0:00 18:20

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Health Affairs This Week?

This episode is 18 minutes long.

When was this Health Affairs This Week episode published?

This episode was published on August 21, 2026.

Can I download this Health Affairs This Week episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!