Dems target Medicare Advantage changes
April 12, 2014, 01:34 pm
By Elise Viebeck
A new Democratic bill would
prevent Medicare Advantage (MA)
plans from dropping providers in the middle of the year.
The measure is forthcoming from Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and responds to UnitedHealth's move to drop
thousands of doctors from its MA policies at the end of last year.
"The timing and scale of UnitedHealth Group's provider cuts have
been extremely disruptive to patient care and put participants at risk,"
said DeLauro in a statement.
"Congress has to hold these
companies accountable, and make sure they are putting the care of their
enrollees ahead of their profits."
Fights over Medicare Advantage are
especially hot this year given the issue's relevance in the midterm elections.
Last week, the Obama
administration chose to reverse a proposed cut to the program after Republicans
indicated they would use the reduction to target vulnerable Democrats.
Medicare Advantage, a privately
run alternative to traditional Medicare, is paid more on average per
beneficiary by the government.
Democrats and the Obama administration support paring
back the program's reimbursements in order to make them more equal with those
of regular Medicare.
Republicans and insurers argue the
cuts would harm patients and take away popular benefits.
In December, UnitedHealth blamed
its decision to narrow MA plan provider networks on "an era of Medicare
Advantage funding cuts."
DeLauro's bill, the Medicare
Advantage Participant Bill of Rights Act, would require MA plans to finalize
their provider lists 60 days before the annual enrollment period.
It would also prohibit the plans
from dropping providers in the middle of the year, when policyholders cannot
choose new coverage.
Medicare
Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS).
Note: Donald M. Berwick
was an administrator for the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services, and is a senior fellow at the Center
for American Progress.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress.
George Soros
is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the
chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and was a supporter
for the Center for American Progress.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American
Progress, and the Committee for
Economic Development.
Ezekiel Emanuel
is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, and was the health
care policy adviser for the Barack Obama
administration.
Rahm
I. Emanuel is Ezekiel Emanuel’s
brother, a friend of Stanley B.
Greenberg, a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor,
and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.
Stanley B.
Greenberg is a friend of Rahm I.
Emanuel, and married to Rosa L.
DeLauro.
Rosa
L. DeLauro is married to Stanley B.
Greenberg, and a member of the U.S.
House of Representatives.
Tom Daschle is the chairman for the Center
for American Progress, was the nominee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Barack Obama administration, an adviser
at the UnitedHealth Group Inc., and
a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Gail K. Boudreaux
is an EVP for the UnitedHealth Group Inc.,
and a director at the America's Health
Insurance Plans.
Jeannine M. Rivet
is an EVP for the UnitedHealth Group Inc.,
and was a director at the America's
Health Insurance Plans.
Lewis
G. Sandy is an SVP for the UnitedHealth
Group Inc., and was a director at the America's
Health Insurance Plans.
Center
for American Progress was a funder for the America's Health Insurance Plans.
America's
Health Insurance Plans is a major player is the health care debate.
Duberstein
Group, Inc. is the lobby firm for the America's
Health Insurance Plans.
Kenneth M.
Duberstein is the chairman & CEO for the Duberstein Group, Inc., and was a VP for the Committee for Economic Development.
Donna
S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee
for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc.
was the Obamacare contractor that
developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare
is Barack Obama’s signature policy
initiative.
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