The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently announced plans to reduce previously proposed cuts to the Medicare Advantage program.
The Obama administration announced a proposal in February to cut $300 billion from the Medicare Advantage program, which combines public and private aspects of health insurance to provide enrollees more control over their healthcare.
Under the proposed changes, CMS said the average reimbursement for Medicare Advantage plans would rise approximately 0.4 percent in 2015.
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said seniors would continue to suffer from Medicare Advantage cuts being used to fund the Affordable Care Act.
“Although CMS has scaled back some of the new proposed cuts, much more work needs to be done to protect our seniors,” Hatch said.
Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) led a coalition of more than 200 members of Congress to rail against $716 billion in overall proposed Medicare cuts, including the $300 billion in proposed cuts to the Medicare Advantage program.
“While it’s good to know that the administration followed Congress’s lead, there is still more work to be done,” Cassidy said. “We must continue to work to return the $716 billion cut to Medicare that the Obama administration implemented to fund Obamacare.”
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said the ACA has compromised the financial security of senior citizens.
“Too many seniors already have lost their Medicare Advantage plans because of the health law’s raid on the program,” Upton said. “Because 80 percent of the law’s cuts are still scheduled to go into effect, Congress must work to ensure the health law’s continued attack on Medicare Advantage is stopped and seniors have the peace of mind they deserve. Seniors should not have to worry every year about losing their Medicare Advantage plan, doctors or benefits.”