President Joe Biden and his supporters in Congress are positioning themselves as the protectors of entitlement programs, especially Social Security and Medicare. "So tonight, let’s all agree to stand up for seniors," he said in the State of the Union address.
"Stand up and show them we will not cut Social Security. We will not cut Medicare."
Notwithstanding the fact that the Biden administration is spending us into the poor house — making long-term entitlement appropriations impossible — but Biden is indeed planning a Medicare cut. And in the worst possible area of the program: Medicare Advantage.
"Medicare Advantage Plans are another way to get your Medicare Part A and Part B coverage," the government itself explains. "Medicare Advantage Plans, sometimes called 'Part C' or 'MA Plans,' are offered by Medicare-approved private companies that must follow rules set by Medicare. Most Medicare Advantage Plans include drug coverage (Part D)."
The real plus of MA Plans is that they give seniors some control over their own care.
Instead of the government deciding what conditions will be covered and how much it will pay, as in traditional Medicare, MA Plans allow recipients to choose plans that suit their needs, and change those plans as they age and their needs change.
It introduces a measure of the free market into government-controlled health care, while still protecting the interests of protected seniors.
The program is one of President George W. Bush’s domestic successes that he’ll never get credit for. The goal was to let the free-market work its magic while providing preventive medicine that would stave off more expensive healthcare interventions down the road.
Even the harshest critics of Bush’s critics had to admit it worked because it did.
Now, in spite of its promises, the Biden administration is proposing to make changes that would cut billions of dollars from MA. That would mean higher premiums, fewer benefits, and less control for 30 million seniors and people with disabilities.
Here are the facts: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) admit that planned changes would reduce payments by 3.12% this year.
CMS adds that it plans to make certain coding changes that will more than make up the difference. But it hasn’t explained how that would be done.
So while the cuts are certain, any steps that may reverse the cuts are merely speculative.
Even the news site Politico admits that: "While actuaries are still crunching the numbers, Medicare Advantage insurers could ultimately see a net cut of around 2.3 percent — a $3 billion hit to the industry — as a result of proposed updates to coding systems used to explain the health condition of enrollees."
Lawmakers are wise to this bait and switch.
"It's President Biden who is proposing to cut Medicare Advantage, a program used by almost 4 in 10 Arkansas seniors," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Tweeted. "This would be a mistake."
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, added, "It’s @JoeBiden, NOT Republicans, who is proposing Medicare Advantage cuts."
More than half of the Senate — including 15 of Biden’s fellow Democrats — signed a letter vowing to protect MA funding. "The Medicare Advantage program allows for plans to focus on prevention and care coordination, which results in better health outcomes.
"Additionally, the program supports an increasingly diverse population with varied health and socioeconomic backgrounds," they wrote.
"We are committed to our nearly 30 million constituents across the United States who rely on Medicare Advantage, and to maintaining access to the affordable, high-quality care they currently receive."
Some of the Democratic signees include Sens. John Fetterman. D-Pa., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.
Note that radical progressives, the people who claim to be in favor of Medicare, did not sign. Senators like Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., want more government control, even if that leads to worse outcomes for seniors.
In Washington, it’s easy to spend other people’s money and pat yourself on the back for your "generosity."
Medicare Advantage gives seniors a chance to have a say in their own care. If President Biden wants to protect seniors, he should prove it by protecting it.
(Please see related a related story here.)
Jared Whitley is a longtime politico who has worked in the U.S. Congress, White House and defense industry. He is an award-winning writer, having won best blogger in the state from the Utah Society of Professional Journalists (2018) and best columnist from Best of the West (2016). He earned his MBA from Hult International Business School in Dubai. Read Jared Whitley's reports — More Here.
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