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Senate urges strengthening Medicare Advantage |
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February 21, 2017 |
By U.S. Senator Mike Crapo
In Idaho, one in three Medicare beneficiaries
have chosen a private health plan through
Medicare Advantage (MA), which allows
beneficiaries to select a health plan that best
suits their individual budget and health needs.
Given the successes of Medicare Advantage for
many in Idaho and across the nation, maintaining
and strengthening it will ensure its long-term
stability.
I recently led a letter signed by fellow Idaho
Senator Jim Risch and 63 of our Senate
colleagues to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Dr. Patrick
Conway encouraging the Trump Administration to
enact policies to protect and strengthen the
Medicare Advantage program.
The letter was signed by a growing, bipartisan
group of senators (four more than signed a
similar letter I led last year and 12 more than
signed the letter I led in 2015).
More than 18 million seniors and individuals
with disabilities nationwide access
comprehensive, high-quality health care through
the MA program. Plans offered through Medicare
Advantage allow beneficiaries to choose a health
plan that best suits their individual budget and
health needs. These plans often offer more
flexible services and additional benefits,
including vision, dental and prescription drug
coverage.
Additionally, this program is a successful
effort to push Medicare more toward market based
health care.
Despite the value the MA program has
demonstrated and broad use by beneficiaries, it
faced repeated attempts by the Obama
Administration to raid the program to cover the
cost of inefficiencies in Obamacare and
traditional Medicare.
Idaho has been impacted by reductions to the
program, as the past Administration’s cuts to
the program resulted in MA plans no longer being
offered in numerous Idaho counties. As the new
Congress and new Trump Administration consider
comprehensive reforms to our health care system,
it is noteworthy that a bipartisan and
increasing majority of the Senate is pressing
for the strengthening of “this proven part of
the program that has led the way on value-based
care.”
In the letter to the CMS, we went on to write,
“Millions of our constituents depend on Medicare
Advantage for affordable, quality,
patient-centered health care. Enrollment has
increased by about 60 percent since 2010, as
plans have demonstrated their ability to deliver
value to their members. Nearly one of every
three Medicare beneficiaries has selected a
Medicare Advantage plan, with 90 percent of
members reporting satisfaction with their
selection ... We believe Medicare Advantage is
an important part of the health care system that
is working for America’s seniors. We encourage
the Administration to strongly support and build
on Medicare Advantage for today’s Medicare
beneficiaries and those who will be entering the
program in the future.”
The Medicare Advantage program can serve as a
model of coordinated care that aligns payments
with patient outcomes, rather than the number of
procedures.
As I work with Idahoans, my colleagues in
Congress and the Trump Administration to reform
our health care system, I will continue to press
for leveraging the MA program to encourage
innovation, increase competition and expand
beneficiary access to these private Medicare
plans. |
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