Request for Information: Reducing Administrative Burden to put Patients over Paperwork
August 12, 2019
Comments
The Medicare Rights Center (Medicare Rights) is pleased to submit comments in response to the Request for Information: Reducing Administrative Burden to put Patients over Paperwork (the RFI). Medicare Rights is a national, nonprofit organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy initiatives. Each year, Medicare Rights provides services and resources to nearly three million people with Medicare, family caregivers, and professionals.
Medicare Rights appreciates the Patients over Paperwork initiative and supports its stated aims. In our response to this RFI, we are particularly focused on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s (CMS’s) specific request for suggestions to ease the burdens placed on beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid (“dual eligibles”) and suggestions for simplification of enrollment and eligibility determinations across programs. Low-income beneficiaries can find paperwork particularly challenging as many have relatively low health literacy and often face significant health challenges. This can limit their ability to handle documentation and timely respond to complex income and asset requests or to provide information supporting appeals, requests for waivers, or rate reductions.
Any changes to the Medicare program must aim for healthier people, better care, and smarter spending—not paying more for less. As policymakers debate the future of health care, we will provide our insights here.
Thinking ahead to Medicare's future, it’s important to modernize benefits and pursue changes that improve how people with Medicare navigate their coverage on a daily basis. Here are our evolving 30 policy goals for Medicare’s future.
You can help protect and strengthen Medicare by taking action on the important issues we are following, subscribe to newsletter alerts, or follow along on social media. Any way you choose to get involved is a contribution that we appreciate greatly.
Request for Information: Reducing Administrative Burden to put Patients over Paperwork
The Medicare Rights Center (Medicare Rights) is pleased to submit comments in response to the Request for Information: Reducing Administrative Burden to put Patients over Paperwork (the RFI). Medicare Rights is a national, nonprofit organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy initiatives. Each year, Medicare Rights provides services and resources to nearly three million people with Medicare, family caregivers, and professionals.
Medicare Rights appreciates the Patients over Paperwork initiative and supports its stated aims. In our response to this RFI, we are particularly focused on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s (CMS’s) specific request for suggestions to ease the burdens placed on beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid (“dual eligibles”) and suggestions for simplification of enrollment and eligibility determinations across programs. Low-income beneficiaries can find paperwork particularly challenging as many have relatively low health literacy and often face significant health challenges. This can limit their ability to handle documentation and timely respond to complex income and asset requests or to provide information supporting appeals, requests for waivers, or rate reductions.
Reference
Recent Documents
Comments on 2024 Physician Fee Schedule
Comments on the Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance Proposed Rule
Comments on Health and Human Services Grants Regulation
Increasing Access to Medicare Savings Programs: Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations from New York
Comparing Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage History: Legislative Milestones
Any changes to the Medicare program must aim for healthier people, better care, and smarter spending—not paying more for less. As policymakers debate the future of health care, we will provide our insights here.
Thinking ahead to Medicare's future, it’s important to modernize benefits and pursue changes that improve how people with Medicare navigate their coverage on a daily basis. Here are our evolving 30 policy goals for Medicare’s future.
You can help protect and strengthen Medicare by taking action on the important issues we are following, subscribe to newsletter alerts, or follow along on social media. Any way you choose to get involved is a contribution that we appreciate greatly.