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Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate is poised to pass legislation that could force 77,801 Texas seniors out of their preferred Medicare Advantage plan. The House previously approved the legislation, which was vigorously opposed by U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady.
The measure protects doctors from looming Medicare cuts and requires prompt Medicare drug payments to local pharmacists – provisions that Brady strongly supports.
Unfortunately, the bill slashes nearly $50 billion from Medicare Advantage fee-for-service plans. These Medicare plans are most relied upon by seniors in rural Texas who have fewer choices in doctors, hospitals and other health care professionals.
“Only in Washington do they pit doctors and pharmacists against their elderly patients,” said Brady, a member of the Social Security sub-committee. “We should not be forcing seniors out of their preferred Medicare plans, especially in rural areas where there are so few choices. When is Washington going to stop robbing Peter to pay Paul?”
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office warns the bill could lead to 2 million seniors losing their Medicare Advantage private fee-for-service plans over the next five years, 3,146 of them in the 8th Congressional District of Texas.
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Background: Private Fee-for-Service is the Medicare Advantage plan of choice in rural America. Currently, more than half of all rural seniors who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage chose such a plan - an enrollment number which has grown five-fold since 2003.
Because private fee-for-service plans are not required to form provider networks, they are a popular choice for seniors in underserved and rural areas where contracting with hospitals and physicians who can be hundreds of miles apart is cost-prohibitive.
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