STAT+: Democrats urge government to rein in Medicare Advantage overpayments and denials
The Biden administration is about to set the ground rules for next year’s Medicare Advantage plans, and two Democratic lawmakers want the government to aggressively change how those insurance plans operate.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) sent a letter Friday to Medicare’s top leader, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, outlining steps they say would drastically reduce the estimated $100 billion in annual overpayments and questionable quality bonuses Medicare Advantage insurers receive. All of the proposed actions — which include terminating more contracts with insurers that violate the program’s coverage rules — fall within Medicare’s existing powers.
“It is imperative for [Medicare] to rein in these abuses and protect Medicare coverage for the seniors and people with disabilities who rely on it,” Warren and Jayapal wrote in the letter.
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