Protect patients from the so-called “Medicare Advantage” plans!

I’m reaching out as a constituent with serious concerns about the future of Medicare. Currently, there is a letter circulating in Congress, led by Sen. Warren and Reps. Jayapal, DeLauro, and Schakowsky, urging CMS to protect patients from the harmful practices of so-called “Medicare Advantage” plans … and to make improvements to the traditional Medicare program. I urge you to sign on to this letter. The record is clear: Corporate health insurers consistently abuse their position of trust when it comes to administering Medicare benefits. They restrict our choice of doctors; delay and deny care that is routinely approved by traditional Medicare; and hit us with surprise medical bills when we can least afford them. Enough is enough! CMS officials have already received an industry-friendly letter in support of the status quo that was signed by 61 senators. In the coming weeks, they will need to hear from even more legislators who are supportive of policies that will protect seniors from corporate health insurers. The letter being circulated by Sen. Warren and Reps. Jayapal, DeLauro, and Schakowsky calls for several important reforms: cracking down on the obstacles that insurers put between us and the care we need; reining in runaway overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans; and using the money saved to improve the traditional Medicare program. While there is much that CMS can do, like lowering monthly premiums for people on Medicare, I also hope you’ll support Congressional efforts to add vision, dental, and hearing benefits for traditional Medicare, and to cap our out-of-pocket costs. For these reasons and more, I urge you to sign on to this important letter. Thanks.