Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Return to Search

Actuarial Bid Training - 2021

Guidance for 2021 actuarial bid training.

Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Issue Date: January 01, 2020

The Actuarial Bid Training provides industry actuaries with program and technical guidance for preparing Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Bids for contract year (CY) 2021. The training consists of the following nine sessions with information that is recommended for all actuaries preparing or certifying CY 2021 bids (See Related Links below):

  1. Actuarial Bid Training Introduction
  2. Introduction to Bidding
  3. BPT101
  4. Base Period Experience, Data Aggregation, and Credibility
  5. Medicare Advantage Pricing Considerations for Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries
  6. Risk Score Development
  7. Bid Pricing Reviews and Bid Audits
  8. Non-Benefit Expenses and Gain/Loss Margin
  9. Related-Party Arrangements

The first session provides a brief introduction to bid training.  Sessions two and three provide a basic overview of the Medicare Advantage and Part D programs and bid forms for actuaries and other interested parties.  Sessions four through nine provide detailed program and technical guidance for preparing CY 2021 Medicare Advantage and Part D bids for certifying actuaries, with focus on policy and other significant bidding topics.

No registration is required to access the prerecorded training materials. The training can be independently viewed online at any time after the posting date as a webcast. In addition to the training sessions, all the training slides are available in one file for printing (See Downloads below).

HHS is committed to making its websites and documents accessible to the widest possible audience, including individuals with disabilities. We are in the process of retroactively making some documents accessible. If you need assistance accessing an accessible version of this document, please reach out to the guidance@hhs.gov.

DISCLAIMER: The contents of this database lack the force and effect of law, except as authorized by law (including Medicare Advantage Rate Announcements and Advance Notices) or as specifically incorporated into a contract. The Department may not cite, use, or rely on any guidance that is not posted on the guidance repository, except to establish historical facts.