WASHINGTON – At a March hearing, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reported that Medicare is overpaying Medicare Advantage (MA) plans by an average of 112 percent.
The staggering numbers come at a time when Congress is looking to fund other healthcare programs, in particular the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), through budget cuts.
“We have no intention of eliminating the Medicare Advantage program,” said Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-Calif.), during the hearing. “Our effort to improve and protect Medicare cannot focus on one part of the program at the expense of other parts. They all must work together to ensure Medicare meets its design – providing healthcare for America’s senior citizens and people with disabilities.”
Mike Tuffin, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), called MedPAC’s methodology “flawed.”
“We reject the idea that coverage for children should be financed by gutting important health benefits for seniors,” he said. “CMS estimates that seniors in Medicare health plans save an average of $86 per month in better benefits and lower costs.”
According to AHIP, half of the MA population earns less than $20,000 per year and 68 percent of minorities in MA have annual incomes of less than $20,000 per year.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s current membership in Medicare Advantage and Part D plans numbers more than 10,000, with sales of its Medicare Advantage products having tripled during its winter open-enrollment period.
“MA plans are providing greater choice, better financial security and expanded comprehensive healthcare coverage than has ever been available to seniors before,” spokesperson Mary Thompson said.
The proposed cuts would create an additional burden on BCBST and other carriers as they try to balance affordable premiums and comprehensive benefits with less funding, Thompson said.
“We’ve reached out to legislators and the public, and tried to inform them of the negative impact that funding cuts would bring,” she said.
“Seniors across the country are mobilizing in unprecedented numbers to defend their Medicare health plan benefits,” said Tuffin.