Seniors Mobilizing Against Medicare Advantage Cuts

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Also Included In: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 02 Jul 2008 - 1:00 PST

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As Congress continues to pursue a solution to the Medicare physician payment issue, seniors from across the country are mobilizing over the July 4th recess to urge Congress to preserve their Medicare Advantage benefits.

The Coalition for Medicare Choices, which consists of 400,000 seniors, has mobilized thousands of seniors across the country to call, write, email, and visit their representatives during the July 4th recess to express their opposition to cutting Medicare Advantage benefits.

"My Medicare Advantage plan has always been there when I needed it the most. Congress needs to know that while my health care benefits may not be that important to them, they are important to me," said Joe Cameron of Fort Worth, Texas.

AHIP today also announced that it is launching a new national television advertising campaign that reminds Congress what happened last time it cut the Medicare Advantage program and what's at stake for millions of seniors across the country. The ad, "Again," begins running this week on national cable television.

"Congress needs to address the physician payment issue without putting seniors at risk," said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP. "Medicare Advantage cuts could mean limited choices, reduced benefits, and higher out of pocket costs for seniors."

Many doctors are also working in partnership with AHIP to contact their legislators to voice their opposition to cuts in their patients' health care benefits. A survey released last year found that three out of four doctors believe that making cuts to the Medicare Advantage program would have a negative effect on the seniors enrolled in the program.

"As a physician, I see the value of Medicare Advantage to my patients every single day. Congress needs to understand that cutting Medicare Advantage will be harmful to millions of seniors," said Jay Cohen, M,D. of the Monarch Physician Group in Orange County, California.

"Many of our Medicare Advantage patients are low-income seniors who have to get by on a fixed income. If these cuts go through, some of our patients may think twice before scheduling a needed visit to the doctor," said Louis Roddy, M.D., FCCP, in Houston, Texas.

A recent poll that was conducted jointly by Ayres, McHenry & Associates and the Feldman Group on behalf of AHIP found that by a 3-to-1 ratio among traditional Medicare enrollees and a 6-to-1 ratio among Medicare Advantage enrollees, seniors oppose cutting Medicare Advantage instead of cutting payments for doctors who treat Medicare patients.

The survey also found that by a 4-to-1 ratio among traditional Medicare enrollees and a 5-to-1 ratio among Medicare Advantage enrollees, most seniors believe cuts to the Medicare Advantage program will have a negative impact on seniors in Medicare health plans.

Additionally, the survey found that by more than a 5-to-1 ratio among traditional Medicare enrollees and a 13-to-1 ratio among Medicare Advantage enrollees, seniors prefer cutting other programs besides Medicare Advantage or raising taxes to offset the spending needed to stop a scheduled cut in physician payments.

http://www.ahip.org