Warner Applauds Committee Passage of Bipartisan Health Bills to Protect Seniors

Press Release

Today, the Senate Finance Committee voted to approve two bipartisan health care proposals supported by U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) aimed at improving the quality of care for seniors on Medicare. The Committee unanimously voted to approve the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act of 2015 to ensure that seniors receive the health care benefits they have earned by reducing Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud. The Committee also unanimously passed the Program of All-Inclusive Care for Elderly (PACE) Innovation Act of 2015 to strengthen comprehensive and coordinated health and long-term services for the elderly.

"These bipartisan proposals will not only improve care for seniors and protect some of our nation's most vulnerable citizens, but save taxpayers money by preventing billions in wasteful and fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid spending," said Sen. Warner, member of the Senate Finance Committee.

The PACE program -- which Sen. Warner has supported since he was Governor of Virginia -- provides comprehensive, coordinated health and long-term services and supports for some of our nation's most vulnerable citizens -- individuals 55 or older who qualify for nursing home care. These individuals have been diagnosed with a complex mix of chronic illnesses and functional or cognitive impairments, such as dementia, that inhibit their ability to live independently. For most participants, the comprehensive service package enables them to remain in the community rather than receive care in a nursing home. Financing for the program is capped, which allows providers to deliver all services participants need rather than only those reimbursable under Medicare and Medicaid fee-for-service plans.

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