70 Healthcare Groups Pen Medicare Part B Letter to Congress
By - Medicare Part B, which helps pay for the majority of outpatient services, is in the midst of heated Congressional conversation. As RevCycleIntelligence.com reported last week, according to predictions via a personal interview with the Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC), it is likely the president will sign legislation preventing a “massive increase” in Medicare beneficiaries' premiums. Medicare presently mandates the majority of beneficiaries to pay a fixed part B premium, amounting to 25 percent of the total program costs. As CAHC President, Joel White, confirmed last week to RevCycleIntelligence.com, "When no Social Security cost-of-living increases are paid, premiums stay flat for most beneficiaries, which will happen for about 70% of seniors and the disabled in 2016.”
1 in 3 beneficiaries may see Part B premiums rise by 50 percent in 2016
In light of such predictions, 70 leading healthcare organizations – including federal employees, health insurers, and individuals with Medicare – wrote a letter to key Congressional committees last week demanding the tangible halt of projected premium spikes. “Swift action,” the organizations maintain, will protect millions of patients including especially vulnerable populations such as the elderly and the disabled. Growth in the Part B deductible spike will affect all beneficiaries, the organizations state.
Medicare Part B premiums and deductibles are expected to increase by over 50 percent next year, the 70 undersigned leading healthcare organizations state, which will consequently put those individuals without adequate healthcare coverage and the economically disadvantaged in severe financial jeopardy. In direct reference to a 2015 Medicare Trustees Report, the organizations claim one-third of beneficiaries will see Part B premiums increase from about $104 monthly to $160. Supplementing this increase, the organizations add, is an anticipated Part D deductible spike from about $150 to over $220.
Last year, half of those with Medicare lived on annual incomes of less than $24,000, the letter explains. “We are deeply concerned by the projected Part B premium and deductible increases,” the organizations state. “Newly enrolled Medicare beneficiaries, those not collecting Social Security benefits — many of whom are retired public servants — and State Medicaid programs should not be expected to carry the burden of paying for increased costs in Part B through higher premiums and cost sharing,” the organizations explain.
The letter additionally urges Congress to implement a resolution to “significantly lessen” expected spikes. “Specifically, no beneficiary should be forced to pay more than they otherwise would simply because some beneficiaries are afforded critical protections against reductions in their Social Security checks,” the organizations maintain. “Access to information about Part B costs is critically important to the decision-making process for older adults and people with disabilities as they consider their 2016 coverage options,” they add.
Says Joe Baker, President of the Medicare Rights Center, within a press release, “Congress must act quickly to halt expected increases in Part B costs for 30 percent of people with Medicare. Without a fix, Part B premiums will increase to $159 per month for select beneficiaries, and the Part B deductible will rise to $223 for all people with Medicare.”
Neither the disabled nor the elderly – particularly those tight on money – will be able to effectively manage such “unprecedented” increases, Baker claims. “We urge members of Congress to heed this call to action from leading voices across the health care sector,” he states.
