2014-03-13

The Obama Administration Plans To Cut Medicare Advantage Payments By 5.9 Percent Next Year. “The health insurance industry fighting proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage payments argued they will raise seniors’ out-of-pocket costs next year. America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade group, blasted the reductions with a report Thursday finding that beneficiaries could pay as much as $900 more in 2015 if the cuts take effect. The report by consulting firm Oliver Wyman concluded that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans could see a 5.9 percent total cut to their payments next year as a result of changes proposed by federal health officials.” (Elise Viebeck, “Insurers: Medicare Advantage Cuts Cost Seniors $900 Per Year,” The Hill, 2/27/14)

This Year’s Proposed Cuts To Medicare Advantage Are On Top Of A Six Percent Cut Last Year. “Another possibility for insurers is eliminating plans and withdrawing from certain markets. Many did that last year after the government cut rates by nearly 6 percent.” (Caroline Humer, “U.S. Health Insurers Brace For New Steep Medicare Cuts,” Reuters, 2/20/14)

The Continuing Cuts To Medicare Advantage Are Due To ObamaCare

The Federal Government Has Consistently Cut Medicare Advantage Payment Rates As A Result Of ObamaCare. “The U.S. government has been cutting payment rates for Medicare Advantage as part of an overall reduction in healthcare spending required under the law and as it seeks to bring the program fees closer to the ones it pays through the Medicare fee-for-service program.” (Caroline Humer, “U.S. Health Insurers Brace For New Steep Medicare Cuts,” Reuters, 2/20/14)

Democrats Financed ObamaCare In Part “By An Estimated $206 Billion” In Medicare Advantage Cuts. “Consumers who choose Advantage plans are opting for managed care with benefits including lower out-of-pocket costs over the traditional government-run Medicare program for the elderly and disabled. Government payments have been under pressure since 2010, when the U.S. health expansion was financed in part by reducing spending on Advantage plans by an estimated $206 billion over a decade.” (Alex Wayne and Caroline Chen, “Humana, UnitedHealth Face About 3.6% Advantage Rate Cuts,” Bloomberg , 2/21/14)

NEARLY EVERY DEMOCRAT SENATOR UP FOR REELECTION VOTED TO CUT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE SPECIFICALLY

In 2009, As ObamaCare Was Being Debated In The Senate, Republicans Offered An Amendment To Protect Medicare Advantage From Cuts. “Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, has proposed an amendment to block the cuts, which would reduce spending on Medicare Advantage plans by about $120 billion over 10 years.” (David M. Herszenhorn, “‘Medicare Advantage’ at Issue in Senate,” The New York Times , 12/4/09)

Sen. Orinn Hatch (R-UT) Proposed To Send The Bill Back To The Senate Finance Committee, With Instructions To Remove $120 Billion In Cuts To Medicare Advantage. HATCH: Mr. President, I send a motion to commit with instructions to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration. PRESIDING OFFICER: “The clerk will report the motion.” The legislative clerk read as follows: “The Senator from Utah [Mr. Hatch] moves to commit H.R. 3590 to the Committee on Finance with instructions to report the same back to the Senate with changes that do not include cuts in payments to Medicare Advantage plans totaling -$120 billion.” (Senator Orrin Hatch, Congressional Record, 12/4/09, p. S12306)

Hatch Warned That “These Cuts Will Threaten Beneficiaries’ Access To Care As Medicare Providers Find It More And More Challenging To Provide Health Services To Medicare Patients.” HATCH: “So there is $135 billion from hospitals, $120 billion from Medicare Advantage, about $15 billion from nursing homes, more than $40 billion from home health care agencies, and close to $8 billion from hospice providers. These cuts will threaten beneficiaries’ access to care as Medicare providers find it more and more challenging to provide health services to Medicare patients. And what is their argument? They say it is the awful insurance companies causing these problems. No, it is the awful Federal Government causing these troubles.” (Senator Orrin Hatch, Congressional Record, 12/4/09, p. S12307)

The Amendment Was Voted Down By Senate Democrats, Including Kay Hagan, Mary Landrieu, Mark Udall, Tom Udall, Mark Pryor, Mark Warner, Jeanne Shaheen, Al Franken And Jeff Merkley. (H.R. 3590, Hatch Motion to Commit, Roll Call Vote #362, Rejected 57-41: R 39-0; D 57-2, 12/4/09)

Senate Republicans Attempted To Remove The Medicare Cuts A Second Time In March Of 2010. “Before outlining a provision he has proposed to improve the health care reconciliation bill by protecting seniors’ Medicare benefits, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) this morning outlined the economic costs of the recently-passed $2.5 trillion health care bill and ‘its impact on the future of our children and grandchildren.’ Specifically, Hatch’s provision, called a motion to commit, would stop the cuts to the Medicare Advantage program if the Actuary at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) certifies that 1 million Medicare Advantage beneficiaries lose their coverage or benefits.” (Press Release, “Hatch Offers Provision to Protect Seniors,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, 3/24/10)

Senate Democrats – Including Kay Hagan, Mary Landrieu, Mark Udall, Tom Udall, Mark Pryor, Mark Warner, Jeanne Shaheen, Al Franken And Jeff Merkley – Voted To Kill The Motion To Protect Medicare Advantage. (H.R. 4872, Baucus Motion To Table Hatch Motion, Roll Call Vote #72, Agreed To 56-42: R 0-40; D 56-2, 3/24/10)

SENIORS IN 2014 STATES WILL SEE THEIR PREMIUMS RISE OR BENEFITS FALL BY HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR

Arkansas

98,322 Arkansans Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

Arkansas Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $35-$45 Per Month ($420-$540 Per Year) Due To Mark Pryor’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: Arkansas, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

Colorado

244,356 Coloradans Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

Colorado Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $35-$45 Per Month ($420-$540 Per Year) Due To Mark Udall’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: Colorado, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

Louisiana

193,638 Louisianans Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

Louisiana Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $55-$65 Per Month ($660-$780 Per Year) Due To Mary Landrieu’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: Louisiana, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

Minnesota

415,638 Minnesotans Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

Minnesota Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $25-$35 Per Month ($300-$420 Per Year) Due To Al Franken’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: Minnesota, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

New Hampshire

12,544 New Hampshirites Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

New Hampshire Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $35-$45 Per Month ($420-$540 Per Year) Due To Jeanne Shaheen’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: New Hampshire, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

New Mexico

98,198 New Mexicans Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

New Mexico Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $55-$65 Per Month ($660-$780 Per Year) Due To Tom Udall’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: New Mexico, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

North Carolina

328,020 North Carolinians Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

North Carolina Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $55-$65 Per Month ($660-$780 Per Year) Due To Kay Hagan’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: North Carolina, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

Oregon

286,306 Oregonians Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

Oregon Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $35-$45 Per Month ($420-$540 Per Year) Due To Jeff Merkley’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: Oregon, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

Virginia

181,455 Virginians Are Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan As Of June 2013. (Marsha Gold, Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/2013)

Virginia Seniors Will See Their Medicare Advantage Premiums Rise Or Their Benefits Fall By $45-$55 Per Month ($540-$660 Per Year) Due To Mark Warner’s Medicare Advantage Cuts. (Medicare Advantage By The Numbers: Virginia, Coalition For Medicare Choices, Accessed 3/12/14)

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