Medicare Watch

Medicare Rights Releases Additional Fact Sheets in the Series "Paying More for Less."

Medicare continues to be an integral part of the deficit reduction debate. Policymakers have put forth various proposals to find savings in Medicare, many of which would shift costs to older adults and people with disabilities—those who can least afford to pay more for their health care. In an effort to inform the deficit reduction debate, Medicare Rights developed the “Paying More for Less” series about these proposals to change Medicare.

The latest fact sheets in the series discuss increasing cost sharing for beneficiaries through changes in Medigap plans and redesigning the Medicare benefit. Proposals to increase out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries who purchase Medigap plans—a widely used form of supplemental insurance to Medicare—shift costs to beneficiaries who already pay a high price for health security.

Frequently discussed Medicare benefit redesign proposals would combine the Part A and Part B deductibles, implement a single coinsurance rate for health care services, and create an out-of-pocket spending cap for beneficiaries. While it is important for policymakers to simplify and streamline Medicare benefits, most redesign proposals shift costs to people with Medicare, employers and other insurers while failing to address the underlying cause of rising Medicare expenses: medical inflation across the entire health care sector.

Visit Medicare Rights’ Deficit Reduction and Medicare webpage for the fact sheet series, as well as additional letters, testimonies, and news stories about the importance of preserving Medicare for current and future beneficiaries.

Read “Paying More for Less: Medigap Cost Sharing.”

Read “Paying More for Less: Benefit Redesign.”

National Groups Sign Letter to the President and Congress Outlining Priorities in the "Fiscal Slope" Debate

Medicare Rights Center, working with the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights and 145 other national groups, signed a letter to President Obama and Congress calling for both the President and Congressional leadership to work together to prioritize job creation, protect the safety net, require corporations and wealthy individuals to pay their fair share in taxes, and oppose benefit cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The letter states, “Millions of seniors, children, people with disabilities, and others, depend on [Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security] and they must not be cut. They are a cornerstone of our nation’s health care and retirement systems, and a promise made to future generations.” A group of the largest and most powerful progressive voices also highlighted their priorities in an advertisement that ran in The Washington Post.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. 

Medicare Reminder

There is about one week left in Fall Open Enrollment, the time of year when you can change your Medicare coverage. You can join a new Medicare private health plan (Medicare Advantage (MA) plan) or stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP). If you have an MA plan, you can also return to Original Medicare with or without a stand-alone PDP. All changes must be completed by December 7, unless you were affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Part D drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans vary greatly in terms of costs and coverage. Each January, plans change their coverage and costs for the new calendar year. Every fall, you should go over your plan’s coverage and compare it with other plans in your area to make sure you have the coverage that is best for you. Examine a plan’s coverage, costs, drug coverage and the pharmacies in its network to see if it best meets your needs. After considering those factors, you can use the plan’s star rating from Medicare to help you select a plan that’s right for you.

Medicare uses a Star Rating System to measure how well Medicare Advantage and prescription drug (Part D) plans perform. Medicare scores how well plans did in several categories, including quality of care and customer service. Ratings range from 1 to 5 stars, with five being the highest and one being the lowest score. Medicare assigns plans one overall star rating to summarize the plan’s performance as a whole. Plans also get separate star ratings in each individual category reviewed. The overall star rating score provides a way to compare performance among several plans. To learn more about differences among plans, look at plans’ ratings in each category.

Medicare reviews plan performances each year and releases new star ratings each fall. This means plan ratings change from one year to the next. Medicare sets the categories and reviews each plan the same way. You should look at coverage and plan costs, such as if the Part D plan covers all the drugs you take and has a premium you can afford before you consider the star rating.  

Read more about the five-star rating system and Medicare plan enrollment at www.medicareinteractive.org.

Spotlight

This week marks the launch of the Coalition to Protect the Rights of New York’s Dually Eligible. This diverse coalition consists of health, aging and disability advocates, along with community- and faith-based organizations. The coalition will be critical to working with insurers, provider groups, and state and federal policymakers to protect the rights of vulnerable individuals as New York State transitions at least 124,000 men and women who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid into new managed care insurance plans by 2014.

The new coalition’s steering committee, consisting of the Medicare Rights Center, Center for Disability Rights, Center for Independence of the Disabled NY, Community Service Society of NY, Empire Justice Center, Legal Aid Society, New York Association on Independent Living, and Selfhelp Community Services, has welcomed dozens of health care and disability stakeholders to date. The coalition has been made possible through a generous grant from the New York State Health Foundation.

Read the press release.