House Democrats, Sen. Baucus Praise Medicare Advantage Changes, Recommend More
House Democrats and Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Monday announced that they have sent letters to Medicare officials praising proposed payment and regulatory changes to the Medicare Advantage program and recommending additional changes, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Baucus and some House Democrats commended a recent CMS proposal to adjust the scale used to determine the reimbursement rate for MA plans by assigning "risk scores" related to how sick a beneficiary is. According to CQ HealthBeat, the changes -- which have garnered the support of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission -- would reduce payments to MA plans.
In a separate letter, some House Democrats supported CMS for its changes to its "call letter" to private health and prescription drug plans regarding bidding requirements for 2010. According to Democrats, the changes would stop discrimination against sicker beneficiaries, make it easier to understand prescription drug benefits and shield beneficiaries from unfair marketing practices (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 3/9).
