CMS Pub. 100-16, ch. 8, § 100

Section 221 of the MMA added §1858(e) to the Act to create a new MA Regional Plan

Stabilization Fund. The purpose of the fund is to provide financial incentives to MA

organizations to offer MA regional PPO plans in each MA region, and to retain MA

regional PPO plans in regions with relatively low MA market penetration. Specifically, the

MMA authorizes CMS to make a 1-year “national bonus payment” to an organization(s)

that offers an MA regional PPO plan in each MA region in a given year (if there was no

such plan offered in one or more regions in the previous year). If no national bonus

payment is made in a given year, CMS may use the fund to increase payments to MA

regional PPO plans offered in regions that did not have any MA regional PPO plans offered

in the prior year. Finally, to encourage plans to remain in regions with relatively low MA

market penetration and few MA regional PPO plans, CMS may make retention payments

from the fund to MA regional PPO plans that notify CMS of their intent to exit a region

prior to the bidding deadline.

Section 301 of Division B, Title III, of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 –

enacted December 20, 2006 – delayed Stabilization Fund payments until January 1, 2012.