During his State of the Union Address, President Biden pledged never to cut a single Medicare benefit and, if anyone tried to do so, vowed, “I will stop them.” However, the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS) recently cut Medicare for 33 million seniors by cutting the Medicare Advantage program.
When Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee, he was grilled by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) about it. Becerra seemed at a loss for answers, so I’m happy to help.
Medicare is a very important program that I fought to protect in Congress. In addition to seniors, Medicare serves certain people with disabilities and those with end-stage renal disease, like my daughter, who was born without kidneys.
To access Medicare, there are options to choose from. Some seniors choose traditional Medicare and some choose a Medicare Advantage plan. I believe having these choices to access Medicare is important.
With traditional Medicare there are Parts A and B to cover most of the costs with hospital stays and doctor visits, but no catastrophic coverage. As a result, seniors end up paying more money to get Medigap plans in case of emergency. There is also no limit on out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare. Moreover, it doesn’t include prescription, hearing, vision, or dental coverage.
With Medicare Advantage plans, on the other hand, all of these benefits come with a lower or even zero out-of-pocket cost to the beneficiary. That’s why every year, enrollment in Medicare Advantage increases. This year, 33 million Americans are enrolled. In ten years, the Congressional Budget Office projects that 62 percent of eligible Americans will be enrolled. Nearly 90 percent of enrollees are satisfied with their coverage and say they would recommend Medicare Advantage to friends and family.
Further, research shows that Medicare Advantage plans achieve better health outcomes for the beneficiaries they serve than traditional Medicare, including “fewer hospital readmissions, fewer preventable hospitalizations and lower rates of high-risk medication use.”
To put this into perspective, CMS’s cuts to the Medicare Advantage program will drive up costs for the average beneficiary by nearly $400 per year. This isn’t just bad policy. In an election year when there are 33 million seniors who vote with a 72 percent turnout rate that can easily make the difference in hotly contested races, this is terrible politics as well. This should be obvious whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent.
Whether you’re talking about traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage — call it whatever you want — cuts to either one are cuts to Medicare, no matter how you spin it.
Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican, served six terms in Congress representing Southwest Washington’s 3rd District.