Hatch Statement on Medicare Advantage Rate Announcement & Call Letter

CMS Details Positive Changes to Popular Program for Seniors

WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today applauded a number of positive changes announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the Medicare Advantage (MA) program and issued the following statement:

“Medicare Advantage is a crucial program for our seniors, and I applaud CMS for making a number of payment and policy adjustments since the release of the Advance Notice and Draft Call Letter this past February. Many of the revisions were championed by members of the Finance Committee and will help ensure the program continues to offer high quality, affordable health care plan options for our seniors, including an overwhelming majority of Medicare beneficiaries in Puerto Rico that use MA plans. While I’m pleased by the progress CMS is making to improve this vital program, I remain hopeful the agency considers requests to enhance transparency and predictability of the Fee-for-Service Normalization Factor. I look forward to more carefully reviewing these final policies for the 2018 plan year, and continuing to work with the agency in the future to address this, and other issues, so our seniors can continue to enjoy the benefits Medicare Advantage provides.”

In late March, Hatch, along with other Senate Republicans, noted progress with the MA program in a letter to the agency and highlighted a number of additional preferred policy modifications to promote beneficiary access.

###

Next Article Previous Article