Health Coverage for 1.3 Million California Seniors at Risk Under House Bill, According to CAPG
Posted on: Friday, 3 August 2007, 00:21 CDT
More than one million California seniors enrolled in health plans could have their health care disrupted and loose their Medicare Advantage coverage if Congress passes legislation that would slash payments to Medicare Advantage plans, according to a statement released today by the California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG), the state's largest physician organization association.
"An independent study by former senior federal health care official, Dr. Ken Thorpe, estimates that the Medicare cuts included in the legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on August 1, would result in the possible elimination of Medicare Advantage health insurance plans now in place in 22 states, forcing more than three million seniors to lose their Medicare Advantage coverage," said Donald Crane, CEO of CAPG. "This could affect up to 1,343,908 seniors in California alone."
The study refers to legislation, H.R. 3162, which passed the House yesterday on a largely party-line vote of 225-204. The bill would reduce funding for Medicare Advantage plans by about $50 billion between 2009 and 2011.
In briefings with Congress members in late July, CAPG reported that physicians are able to better care for patients, particularly those needing care coordination, in the Medicare Advantage program.
"Health care would be disrupted for hundreds of thousands of older Californians should the Medicare Advantage funding cuts become law," said Crane.
"Seniors in California would likely be forced to enroll in the fee-for-service Medicare program, where they would receive fewer benefits and pay higher out-of-pocket costs than they do in Medicare Advantage. Higher out-of-pocket costs, in particular, would hit seniors in Medicare Advantage very hard as 49 percent of Medicare Advantage enrollees earn less than $20,000 a year."
Echoing Dr. Thorpe's conclusion, Peter Orszag, Director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, last week said that under H.R. 3162, Medicare Advantage enrollment would fall from approximately 8.2 million currently to 5.5 million in 2012, a reduction of 33 percent from current enrollment levels.
"More than a million California seniors will face disruptions of their health care, increases in their health care costs and, for many, new challenges in getting the care they need should the Medicare Advantage funding be cut as proposed by the House," said Crane.
"We hope California's Senators will vote to avoid these unnecessary cuts and the impact they will have on older Californians."
More than 150 physician groups representing 59,000 physicians are members of CAPG.
Source: Business Wire
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