A
group
of
13
Democratic
House
Representatives
introduced
a
package
of
eight
bills
last
week
that
would
crack
down
on
Medicare
Advantage
and
strengthen
traditional
Medicare.
The
package
was
introduced
by
Mark
Pocan
(D-Wisconsin)
and
cosponsored
by
Andre
Carson
(D-Indiana),
Steve
Cohen
(D-Tennessee),
Rosa
DeLauro
(D-Connecticut),
Lloyd
Doggett
(D-Texas),
Pramila
Jayapal
(D-Washington),
Ro
Khanna
(D-California),
Eleanor
Holmes
Norton
(D-D.C.),
Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez
(D-New
York),
Jan
Schakowsky
(D-Illinois),
Mark
Takano
(D-California),
Shri
Thanedar
(D-Michigan)
and
Rashida
Tlaib
(D-Michigan).
The
bills
fall
under
three
categories:
1.
Delays
and
denials
of
care
-
Denials
Don’t
Pay
Act:
Disincentivizes
MA
plans
from
delaying
and
denying
care
through
prior
authorization
requirements -
Right
to
Appeal
Patient
Insurance
Denials
Act:
Helps
patients
receive
needed
care
by
automatically
appealing
denials -
Disclose
Your
Denials
Act:
Requires
MA
plans
to
disclose
their
delay
and
denial
rates
when
advertising
2.
Overcharging
taxpayers
-
Medicare
Advantage
Fraud
Accountability
Act:
Bans
companies
from
participating
in
MA
if
they’ve
been
convicted
of
defrauding
the
government -
Keep
Medicare
Costs
Down
Act:
Requires
MA
plans
to
charge
the
government
per
beneficiary
as
much
as
or
less
than
traditional
Medicare -
Seniors’
Choice
and
Clarity
Act:
Limits
the
number
of
plans
that
MA
companies
can
provide
to
just
three
a
year
3.
Strengthening
traditional
Medicare
-
Protecting
Medicare
Choice
Act:
Prevents
Medicare
Advantage
from
being
set
as
the
default
option
for
seniors,
which
was
proposed
in
Project
2025 -
Find
My
Doctor
Act:
Requires
CMS
to
create
a
national
website
that
allows
people
to
search
for
doctors
by
plan
“Only
Medicare
is
Medicare.
It
is
one
of
the
most
popular
and
important
services
our
government
provides,”
Pocan
said
in
a
statement.
“But
for
too
long,
private
healthcare
companies
taking
advantage
of
Medicare’s
brand
and
popularity
have
tricked
and
wronged
seniors.
This
package
of
commonsense,
pro-patient
reforms
will
bring
greater
accountability,
transparency,
and
affordability
to
Medicare
Advantage,
while
strengthening
traditional
Medicare
and
protecting
patient
choice.
This
package
represents
a
strong
step
forward
to
protect
seniors,
save
taxpayer
dollars,
and
restore
integrity
to
the
Medicare
program.”
The
bills
are
endorsed
by
several
organizations,
including
the
Center
for
Health
and
Democracy,
Just
Care
USA,
Labor
Campaign
for
Single
Payer,
Physicians
for
a
National
Health
Program,
Public
Citizen
and
Social
Security
Works.
According
to
JustCare,
a
crackdown
on
Medicare
Advantage
is
overdue.
“Medicare
Advantage
insurers
profit
from
withholding
medically
necessary
care,
and
can
withhold
care
with
near
impunity.
So,
people
enrolling
in
corporate
MA
plans
are
forced
to
gamble
with
their
health
and
with
their
lives.
They
can’t
avoid
the
bad
actors.
It’s
time
Congress
protected
older
Americans
and
people
with
disabilities
from
bad
actor
Medicare
Advantage
insurers,
as
Congressman
Pocan’s
MA
Bill
package
would
do,”
said
Diane
Archer,
president
and
founder
of
JustCare.
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designer491,
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