Wyden Urges CMS to Finalize Proposed Consumer Protections in Medicare Advantage

Finance Chairman Supports Administration Efforts to Crackdown on Anti-Consumer Marketing Practices and Improvement to Health Provider Directories

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to finalize a proposed rule that would enhance consumer protections in Medicare Advantage.

“The Medicare Advantage program has provided Oregonians and Medicare beneficiaries around the country with value by offering plans that coordinate care and invest in the long-term health of their enrollees. However, it has become clear that not all enrollees are seeing that value or being put first. I strongly support the proposed rule as it seeks to restore important protections against deceptive and fraudulent marketing tactics, expands access to non-physician behavioral health providers, and promotes health equity for historically underserved communities,” Wyden wrote. 

In the letter, sent to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Wyden called on the agency to finalize several changes in their recently proposed rule for Medicare Advantage policy changes for 2024, including steps to curb deceptive marketing practices by insurance agents and brokers, and improvements to provider directories that help enrollees find doctors and specialists that are right for them.

Last year, Wyden released an investigation showing how private agents and brokers use high-pressure tactics, misleading language, unsolicited cold-calls, and the use of the Medicare name and logo in marketing and branding that can mislead seniors into mistaking private agents and brokers for the federal government.

The full letter can be found here.

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