Thursday, October 7, 2010

Grassley Letter to Sebelius on Medicare Advantage Misinformation

Below is a letter that Finance Committee Ranking Member Grassley sent to Secretary Sebelius this afternoon, asking her to clarify her assertion last week in a speech to the AARP that seniors will have “more Medicare Advantage plans to choose from.”  Senator Grassley’s letter points out that nearly 1 million seniors in Medicare Advantage will be forced to switch plans – and many fewer plans will be offered.  Given the Secretary’s prior comments about “misinformation” with regards to claims by health insurers, Sen. Grassley has requested that the Secretary “issue a prompt correction” about her mis-statement.

A state-by-state breakdown from Finance Committee staff shows all the changes in both Medicare Advantage and Part D, based on data from the 2011 Plan Landscape recently released by CMS.  Column D reflects the number of MA beneficiaries forced to change plans, Column E reflects the number of Medicare Part D enrollees forced to change plans, and Column F adds those two numbers to arrive at a total of more than 1.2 million beneficiaries forced to change plans this year alone.

The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, D.C.  20201
Dear Secretary Sebelius:
As Secretary of Health and Human Services, you have been highly critical of any misinformation surrounding the new health care law.  I share your passion for making sure that the American people have the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding changes to our health care system.  For that reason, I would like to bring to your attention a statement you made on October 1, 2010 in a speech at AARP’s “Orlando@50+” event.  In your prepared remarks, which were downloaded off the HHS website and are attached, it says:
Well, the doom and gloom crowd was wrong.  Last week, our department announced the Medicare Advantage plans for 2011.  Here’s what we learned … there will be more Medicare Advantage plans to choose from.
Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the “2011 Plan Landscape” which directly contradicts your statement that seniors will have more Medicare Advantage (MA) choices in 2011.  In fact, CMS noted that 920,000 beneficiaries will be forced to find a new MA plan in the coming year because of contract terminations and service area reductions. 
This CMS announcement was followed by real world examples, including recent reports that Harvard Pilgrim in Massachusetts is canceling policies for 22,000 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.  And in my home state of Iowa, 21,000 beneficiaries will be unable to keep their current MA plan.  Analysis of CMS data has shown that in 2011 seniors will have 36 percent fewer plan options than they did in 2010 making it impossible to substantiate your claim that “there will be more Medicare Advantage plans to choose from” in the coming year. 
Your speech also failed to note that the $200 billion included in the partisan health care overhaul will decrease projected enrollment by 50 percent by 2017 according to the Chief Actuary at CMS.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also assumed extra benefits, like reduced cost-sharing, chronic care management, and dental and vision services, would be cut in half.  
I find it particularly troubling that the section of your speech dedicated to setting the record straight and criticizing those concerned about the future of the MA program contains substantial misinformation and omissions.  Therefore, I request that you issue a prompt correction with AARP to all Medicare Advantage beneficiaries letting them know about fewer MA choices, higher costs and fewer benefits in the coming years.
We owe it to 11 million Medicare Advantage beneficiaries to make sure they are aware of the coming changes to this popular program.  Thank you for your attention to this important matter. 
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
United States Senator