Crapo Calls on Administration to Halt Plans to Cut Medicare Advantage

Statement

Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, today joined his Republican committee colleagues on a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administration Andy Slavitt calling for the Obama Administration to halt its plans to implement policy changes that reduce funding for the Medicare Advantage program. Several proposed policy changes would result in cuts to the program in 2017.

"In Idaho, one in three Medicare beneficiaries have chosen a private health plan through Medicare Advantage, which allows beneficiaries to choose a health plan that best suits their individual budget and health needs," said Crapo of the proposed cuts. "Yet despite the success of Medicare Advantage for many beneficiaries, the Administration continues to use the program as a piggy-bank to offset inefficiencies in Obamacare and traditional Medicare. These cuts undermine the long-term stability of the program not only for Idahoans, but for individuals who use Medicare Advantage across the nation."

"We are increasingly concerned about the impact of these cumulative actions on the program and the seniors who depend on it for their health care coverage needs," today's follow-up letter reads in part. "These proposed changes have the potential to create instability in the Medicare Advantage program and undermine health plan choices that are valued by millions of Americans. Recognizing the serious threat these proposals pose to the health coverage of Medicare Advantage enrollees, we strongly recommend that you carefully consider the impact of these changes on Medicare beneficiaries and, instead, adopt policies to strengthen Medicare Advantage."

Today's letter is a follow-up to an earlier letter, led by Crapo, to CMS about Medicare Advantage cuts. In that previous letter, Crapo and others called on CMS to refrain from making additional harmful cuts to the Medicare Advantage program in 2017, which offers comprehensive, high-quality health care to over 17 million seniors and individuals with disabilities nationwide. As part of the funding mechanism for Obamacare, the Medicare Advantage program faces nearly $200 billion in cuts by 2022.

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