SHOCKER: Congressional Republicans Rush to the Defense of Humana Inc.
SHOCKER: Congressional Republicans Rush to the Defense of Humana Inc. After the Unscrupulous Insurance Giant Scares Seniors With Grossly Misleading Mailer Warning of Medicare Benefit Cuts, Higher Costs Under Health Insurance Reform Proposals Before Congress
SHOCKER: Congressional Republicans Rush to the Defense of Humana Inc. After the Unscrupulous Insurance Giant Scares Seniors With Grossly Misleading Mailer Warning of Medicare Benefit Cuts, Higher Costs Under Health Insurance Reform Proposals Before Congress
Senate Republicans Offering A Series of Amendments Today Protecting the Wasteful and Unnecessary Subsidies the Insurance Industry Reaps by Offering the So-Called ‘Medicare Advantage’ Program
Americans United for Change: “More than 31 million seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in regular Medicare are paying higher premiums thanks to Medicare Advantage. It’s time to rein in this big insurance boondoggle that is robbing Edna to pay CEO’s Like Ed Hanway.”
Washington D.C. – Americans United for Change was not at all surprised to see Congressional Republicans rush to the defense of health insurance giant Humana yesterday after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched an investigation into whether the company violated marketing rules by sending letters to seniors in a number of states that includes these false and grossly misleading statements:
“Leading health reform proposals being considered in Washington, D.C., this summer include billions in Medicare Advantage funding cuts, as well as spending reductions to original Medicare and Medicaid…[I]f the proposed funding cut levels become law, millions of seniors and disabled individuals could lose many of the important benefits and services that make Medicare Advantage health plans so valuable… these cuts could mean higher costs and benefit reductions.”
As the AARP has noted, “None of the health care reform proposals being considered by Congress would cut Medicare benefits or increase your out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services.” Objections from Congressional Republicans over the CMS treatment of Humana yesterday tees up a series of Republican amendments being offered today to the Senate Finance Committee’s health insurance reform proposal that will seek to undermine or eliminate proposed cuts to the ‘so-called’ Medicare Advantage program – a wasteful and unnecessary program birthed under the previous administration, where tens of billions of dollars in government subsidies are funneled to insurance providers who offer the program with a highly questionable “advantage” over traditional Medicare and a far steeper price tag. See: Med Page Today, “Private MedicareCosts More Than Traditional Plans Without Quality Improvement,” November 26, 2008: http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/Medicare/11936 Tom McMahon, Acting Executive Director, Americans United for Change: “After taking nearly $100,000 from Humana Inc., it’s no surprise Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is going to the mat for the insurance giant after they possibly violated rules by spreading misinformation intended to scare seniors about health insurance reform. But can McConnell and Congressional Republicans at least be honest about what is going here? 1) No Democratic proposal before Congress will cut Medicarebenefits or increase costs for seniors. In fact, quite the opposite. Just ask the AARP. “2) The misleading language Humana is peddling has everything to do with their bottom line and nothing to do with what’s best for seniors. It is an unscrupulous effort to protect the hugely wasteful and completely unnecessary subsidies Humana rakes in by offering the so-called ‘Medicare Advantage’ program – a Bush-era program that costs taxpayers 14% more to provide virtually the same services as traditional Medicare butwithout improving quality for seniors. But the real kick in the shins is that these overpayments also drive up premiums for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare by $86 per year for a couple. In fact, more than 31 million seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in regular Medicare are forced to pay higher premiums each month to subsidize these wasteful overpayments to the insurance industry. Medicare Advantage is robbing Edna to pay CEO’s Like Ed Hanway of Insurance Giant Cigna millions of dollars in compensation”
“3) In a desperate effort to justify Medicare Advantage’s existence, Humana is trumpeting the sweeteners the program provides to some of its enrollees like a free dental checkup. The fact is ALL Medicare beneficiaries subsidize these sweeteners in the Medicare Advantage plans, even though only the people enrolled in those plans receive them. A free dental checkup is a fine thing, but not when it comes at the expense of 31 million other Americans. In addition, the Kaiser Family Foundation found many private fee-for-service plans have higher cost-sharing requirements than traditional Medicare. MedPAC and the Medicare Rights Center have found that some Medicare Advantage beneficiaries end up paying more for specialty services like chemotherapy, for home health or for hospital care. MedPAC issued a report two years ago that found that half of revenues from "overpayments" goes to profits, marketing and administrative costs -- not additional benefits. Bottom line: ending $157 billion in Medicare Advantage overpayments over the next ten years would substantially strengthen Medicare and reduce costs for all its beneficiaries,” added McMahon.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, “In a nut shell, Medicare Advantage plans are private plans funded through Medicare to provide similar benefits, but at a 14% higher cost on average, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an independent Congressional agency. Eliminating these overpayments would free up $157 billion over 10 years, a substantial down payment on health care reform.” EPI further notes that: “The [insurance] industry uses the overpayments to offer sweeteners like free dental check-ups or reduced premiums that entice seniors to enroll in the plans and justify their existence to Congress. As MedPAC Chairman Glenn Hackbarth recently testified, the enhanced benefits provided to Medicare Advantage enrollees are “overwhelmingly…not financed out of plan efficiency, but rather by the Medicare program and other beneficiaries.”
These overpayments, which come at the expense of other Medicare enrollees and the long-term health of the program, go toward profits and higher administrative costs, including the cost of marketing the plans to seniors.” And as Center on Budget and Policy Priorities noted in their recent report, Ending Medicare Advantage Overpayments Would Strengthen Medicare: “The overpayments, which have totaled nearly $44 billion between 2004 and 2008, average more than $1,100 for each beneficiary enrolled in a private plan. By increasing Medicare costs, these overpayments also drive up premiums for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare by $86 per year for a couple, according to the chief actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. More than 31 million seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in regular Medicare are forced to pay higher premiums each month to subsidize these excess payments. The overpayments also “contribute to the worsening long-range financial sustainability of the Medicare program,” as Glenn Hackbarth, MedPAC’s chairman, has warned Congress. They advance the date when the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will become insolvent by 17 months.”
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