News Alert:
Coalition for Medicare Choices Ads Highlight Senior, Physician Support for Medicare Advantage
As Congress continues to consider Medicare legislation, the Coalition for Medicare Choices today released "Won't Forget," a new television ad featuring Medicare Advantage beneficiaries who want lawmakers to know how important the program is to them. The ad begins running this weekend on national cable TV. Click here to view Ad.
New Ad Campaign: AHIP Ad Highlights Doctors’ Support for Medicare Advantage
Washington, DC – Doctors emphasize the importance and value of Medicare Advantage for their patients in a new television ad campaign launched today by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). View the ad below.
(click on image to view ad)
Seniors From Across the U.S. Tell Congress: “I Am Medicare Advantage” at Capitol Hill Rally
WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 350 seniors from across the country gathered on Capitol Hill today to urge Members of Congress to protect their Medicare Advantage benefits. The rally, organized by the Coalition for Medicare Choices, was led by seniors and physicians who called on Congress not to cut Medicare Advantage payments. U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), U.S. Representative Steve Buyer (R-IN) and America’s Health Insurance Plans President and CEO Karen Ignagni also spoke at the event.
Medicare Advantage is the part of Medicare that delivers Medicare benefits through private health plans. Seniors who choose Medicare Advantage receive additional benefits and services not available in original Medicare, including coordination of care and disease management services; dental, hearing, and vision benefits; and out-of-pocket cost protection.
“Congress needs to know that doctors outside the Beltway support Medicare Advantage and that the additional benefits provided are vital to improving senior’s health care,” said Osmundo R. Saguil, M.D., Senior Medical Director and Chairman of the Department of Hospital Medicine at the Talbert Medical Group in Costa Mesa, California. “As a physician, I see first hand how coordinated care and disease management services in Medicare Advantage are helping seniors cope with chronic diseases and improving their quality of life.”
Noting that Medicare Advantage saves beneficiaries an average of $86 per month compared with original Medicare and that half of all Medicare Advantage beneficiaries earn less than $20,000 per year, Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, urged Congress to consider the impact that cuts to the program would have on seniors. “Medicare Advantage is a vital safety net program that is helping millions of seniors manage chronic conditions, stay healthy and live fuller lives,” Ignagni said.
Government officials estimate that the program saves seniors on average $1,032 each year through lower out-of-pocket costs and better benefits when compared to basic Medicare coverage.
New Ad Campaign: Medicare Advantage Cuts Threaten Seniors’ Health Security
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has launched a new national television ad campaign reminding Congress about the devastating impact on seniors of cuts to Medicare Advantage. View the ad below:
(click on image to view ad)
House Votes to Push Millions of Seniors out of Medicare Advantage
On August 1, the US House of Representatives voted to cut more than $150 billion over 10 years from the Medicare Advantage program, which covers more than 8 million seniors across the country. If this bill becomes law, nearly 3 million seniors could lose their Medicare Advantage coverage, while millions more would face benefit cuts and higher out-of-pocket health care costs.
The Coalition for Medicare Choices opposes this legislation. We believe that the House-passed bill will have a devastating impact on Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, 49 percent of whom have incomes of less than $20,000 per year.
Members of the CMC are not the only ones who understand the dramatic impact of this legislation:
- Peter Orszag, Director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said that if this bill becomes law 33 percent of people with Medicare Advantage coverage would be forced to drop out of their health plans.
- A study from an independent researcher and former senior health care official in the Clinton Administration, Ken Thorpe, estimates that the proposed cuts would result in 3.2 million seniors losing their Medicare Advantage coverage. The study also found that seniors would be pushed out of Medicare Advantage completely in 22 states.
Click here to see how your legislator voted on the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act bill.
Immediate Action Requested
You still have a chance to help prevent funding cuts to your Medicare Advantage plan. But we need your help now. We urge you to call and write your members of Congress and visit them when they have meetings in your area. Also, ask your family and friends to contact their representatives as well.
Ask your members of Congress to tell their leaders not to make any changes to the Medicare Advantage program that would reduce your benefits or raise your out-of-pocket costs.
Click here to write a letter to your members of Congress using our Online Activist
AHIP Launches National Television Ad Campaign Urging Congress to Protect Seniors’ Medicare Advantage Benefits
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) launches a national television advertising campaign that encourages concerned citizens to urge their member of Congress to protect seniors’ Medicare Advantage benefits. View the ad below:
(click on image to view ad)
Coalition Members Rally Across the Country
From coast to coast, members of the Coalition for Medicare Choices are participating in public rallies to urge members of Congress to oppose legislation that would reduce funding for the Medicare Advantage program. On July 24, alone, more than 20 rallies were held across the country as the US House of Representatives prepares to consider cuts of more than $50 billion that would affect more than 8 million people.
Momentum in our nationwide campaign is building and we need your help to be successful. To participate in this campaign and to tell your members of Congress not to cut funding to the Medicare Advantage program, click here to Take action.
Coalition Member Pictures >>
The Coalition for Medicare Choices....What is it?
The Coalition for Medicare Choices is a rapidly growing organization of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. More than 400,000 Americans in 48 states have joined the Coalition to protect the benefits they receive through their Medicare Advantage plan. Together, we are working to show Congress that Medicare Advantage plans provide critical benefits and lower out-of-pocket costs to millions of beneficiaries. As Congress debates potential changes to Medicare Advantage, we will make certain that your voices are heard.