Senators Support Medicare Advantage

Responding to a question by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., I. Steven Udvarhelyi, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer of Independence Blue Cross, based in Philadelphia, said if the proposed cuts are implemented, service under Medicare Advantage “would deteriorate” and 3 million people would lose their coverage as insurers drop out of the program.

The benefits Medicare Advantage provides that fee-for-service Medicare programs don’t include wellness services that encourage seniors to stay in good health by exercising and by better managing such chronic illnesses as diabetes.

In his comments, Grassley said “it doesn’t make sense” to cut payments to Medicare Advantage.

“It would undo policies supported by members on both sides of the aisle to promote the availability of Medicare coverage choices, especially for beneficiaries in rural areas,” he added.

“Beneficiaries now have choices that can provide them with lower out-of-pocket costs and benefits not otherwise available in traditional Medicare,” Grassley noted. “Medicare Advantage plans can better coordinate beneficiaries’ health care, and that leads to better outcomes. We should be doing everything we can to offer beneficiaries better Medicare choices–not eliminating them.”

The day before the hearing, officials of America’s Health Insurance Plans said at a briefing that Medicare Advantage plans continue to play an important role for minority and low-income seniors.

“This is a vital safety net,” said Karen Ignagni, president of AHIP, of Medicare Advantage plans. Ignagni added that Medicare Advantage plans are especially important to protecting minority and lower income seniors, particularly those who fall just above qualifying for Medicaid but are not covered by an employer’s retirement plan.

Those making less than $20,000 annually, Ignagni said, are less likely to be enrolled in a private healthcare plan, and those earning more than $10,000 per year are ineligible for Medicaid assistance.

Overall, 13% of non-institutionalized Medicare beneficiaries opted to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan in 2004, the most recent year for which data is publicly available, according to AHIP. The figure rises to 49% for those with incomes below $20,000 annually.