U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) helped lead a letter with 345 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives that voiced strong bipartisan support for the Medicare Advantage program, which offers healthcare services to America’s 27 million older adults and people with disabilities.
“I’ve fought for years to protect Medicare so that seniors in western Pennsylvania can sleep soundly knowing they’ll have good healthcare for years to come,” Rep. Kelly said in a statement. “Our seniors deserve to have the best Medicare available, and Medicare Advantage gives them more options than ever before.”
In a Jan. 28 letter the lawmakers sent to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, they pointed out that the number of Americans who choose Medicare Advantage continues to grow, with enrollment more than doubling over the last decade. Enrollment is expected to reach 30 million people by the end of the year, according to their letter.
“As the administration considers updates to the program for plan year 2023, we urge you to provide a stable rate and policy environment that ensures Medicare Advantage can continue to provide the affordable, high-quality, patient-centered coverage our constituents rely on every day,” wrote Rep. Kelly and his colleagues.
This should include protecting important benefits, such as programs focused on addressing health equity, in-home health risk assessments, and value-based insurance design, their letter says.
“We are committed to ensuring that our more than 27 million constituents who rely on Medicare Advantage can count on stability in the program and do not face uncertainty about their benefits or premiums next year,” the members wrote, “and we are ready to protect the program from policies that would undermine this stability or the health outcomes of enrollees.”