Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) led Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and a bipartisan group of 57 of their Senate colleagues in urging the administration to continue support for the Medicare Advantage program, which provides quality health care to millions of seniors and individuals with disabilities across the U.S.
“The number of Americans who choose Medicare Advantage continues to grow each year, with enrollment doubling over the last decade, resulting in Medicare Advantage serving nearly 50 percent of individuals eligible for Medicare,” the Senators wrote. “…In 2023, average Medicare Advantage premiums will fall to a 16-year low of $18 per month and beneficiaries will have access to vital financial protections, including out-of-pocket spending limits and often prescription drug coverage for no additional premium.”
The Senators also urged “CMS to look at meaningful ways to continue to sustain and strengthen Medicare Advantage that protects beneficiaries’ affordability and access and builds on the unique attributes of Medicare Advantage.”
“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. We ask that the Administration provide a stable rate and policy environment for Medicare Advantage that will strengthen and ensure the long-term sustainability of the program—protecting access to its important benefits on which our constituents have come to rely,” they concluded.
The full letter can be found here.
Senator Cortez Masto is a leader in the Senate in ensuring older Nevadans can access quality, affordable health care. She has cosponsored legislation to make health care more affordable by giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices, capping drug costs, and limiting egregious price hikes by drug manufacturers. Her bipartisan legislation to combat Alzheimer’s disease was signed into law and she is working across the aisle to extend Medicare enrollees’ access to telehealth services no matter where they reside.
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