New Alliance Calls For Repeal Of Provisions In 2003 Medicare Law

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 11 Nov 2008 - 2:00 PST

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Eleven of the nation's leading professional, health advocacy and other concerned organizations have formed a new alliance to secure Congressional support for the reversal of the harmful provisions of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act (MMA). The Alliance to Restore Medicare (ARM) views the MMA as severely undermining traditional Medicare, endangering not only the survival of that program but also the political viability of a social insurance model for universal health coverage. ARM members have drafted "Stop the Assault on Medicare," a six-part plan that will be submitted to Congress and the new President.

Medicare is the nation's only federal health insurance program, providing access to health care to 43 million older adults and people with disabilities. According to members of the Alliance, the passage of the 2003 MMA launched a multi-pronged attack calculated to deplete Medicare's funds, erode the public's confidence in Medicare, and largely replace traditional Medicare with private insurance.

"Medicare served our country brilliantly for decades. It's been a balanced, public/private partnership that's brought access to health insurance and health care to older and disabled people - and brought peace of mind and enhanced economic security to their families, said Judith Stein, executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy. "But the increasing emphasis on private plans is threatening to bankrupt Medicare. Subsidies to private plans must end - especially because the plans limit beneficiaries' access to care and cost taxpayers more than they would pay if the same services were provided in the public program. ARM's plan is an important guide for restoring Medicare to health."

ARM notes that although Part D, a much-needed prescription drug benefit, was included in the 2003 law, the benefit's private design has been inefficient, costly and confusing for beneficiaries. Despite broad public support for allowing the government to negotiate drug costs directly, the MMA banned such negotiation. The Alliance seeks a repeal of that ban and calls for creation of a Medicare operated drug benefit.

"The MMA continues to be a disaster. Seniors are not better off under a privatized Medicare system," said Barbara Kennelly, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "We've witnessed widespread marketing abuses in the Medicare Advantage plans, seniors caught in the Part D doughnut hole, a lack of cost containment in prescription drug costs and premium increases while drug companies and private insurers are reaping record profits at the expense of taxpayers."

Some of the other provisions of the 2003 law that ARM seeks to reverse are the Premium Support Demonstration Project set to begin in 2010 that would give many Medicare beneficiaries vouchers and force them to shop for insurance; and means testing of Medicare Part B (outpatient and physician services).

The Alliance to Restore Medicare is also calling for a thorough study of (1) why the cost of the average patient's care is rising so quickly throughout the U.S. health system, and (2) ways to control costs so that Medicare's financial integrity is ensured and beneficiaries get the health care they need without undue financial stress. ARM has identified cost factors that the proposed study should consider.

A list of ARM's member organizations is included below. Details of ARM's six-part plan are available at http://www.alliancetorestoremedicare.org.

Participants in the Alliance to Restore Medicare

American Medical Women's Association
American Public Health Association
Campaign for America's Future
Center for Medicare Advocacy
Islamic Society of North America
Medicare Rights Center
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Senior Citizens Law Center
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP)
Rekindling Reform
Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN)

The Alliance to Restore Medicare