Baucus Statement on Further Need for Congressional Access to CMS Actuary Findings

Senator Concerned by Further Proof of Lack of Access

U.S. Senator Max Baucus:

“I am a strong supporter of the Medicare prescription drug legislation that we passed lastyear and look forward to overseeing it s implementation.

But I still continue to have grave concerns about the disparity between the Medicare costestimates the Administration reported versus the Congressional estimates, especially given thenew information that has been recently revealed about how much information the Administrationhad on the true cost of the bill.

This February, I introduced legislation that would require the Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services career actuaries to provide Congress with direct and open access to theirinformation and estimates. It was unacceptable that Congress was denied access to this valuableinformation during the Medicare negotiations and my bill will ensure that can't happen again."

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