Elevance stock tumbles as CMS may halt Medicare enrollment

Bob Herman covers health insurance, government programs, hospitals, physicians, and other providers — reporting on how money influences those businesses and shapes what we all pay for care. He is also the author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09.

Elevance Health will no longer be able to enroll people into its Medicare Advantage plans starting March 31, according to a new, harshly worded suspension notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

CMS is imposing the punishment after Elevance failed to submit required information to federal regulators over a seven-year period, the government said. The suspension will not affect the 1.9 million people who were already enrolled in an Elevance Medicare Advantage plan heading into this year. 

CMS rarely issues these kinds of sanctions — a serious measure that could financially crush Elevance if the company doesn’t fix things by Medicare’s annual enrollment window that starts in October. The government said that if Elevance takes certain steps to start addressing the issues this month, it won’t suspend enrollment. Elevance’s shares tumbled more than 8% Monday.