Medicare Advantage Clinches Historic, Bipartisan Support in U.S. Senate Letter
BMA’s Donahue applauds Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Tim Scott (R-SC)’s “steadfast commitment to seniors” in leading nearly two-thirds of U.S. Senate on bipartisan MA support letter
Washington, D.C. – Better Medicare Alliance, the nation’s leading research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage, applauded the historic showing of bipartisan support for Medicare Advantage in the U.S. Senate this week, as evidenced by a new Senate letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The letter, led by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Tim Scott (R-SC), was signed by 63 members of the U.S. Senate altogether. It comes as CMS prepares to finalize its Medicare Advantage rate announcement for 2023, expected by April 4.
In their letter, the Senators urge CMS to “ensure that payment or policy changes allow Medicare Advantage plans to continue to provide the patient-centered care that 43 percent of Medicare-eligible Americans rely on every day.”
The lawmakers go on to laud Medicare Advantage’s “high-quality care and value that provides beneficiaries with more coordinated access to enhanced benefits, innovative clinical care models, and greater financial protections” while affirming their commitment to “ensuring that our constituents who rely on Medicare Advantage enjoy the same access to affordable benefits in order to get the care they need.”
The letter follows similar correspondence sent last month from 346 bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Today, in a historic showing of bipartisan support, nearly two-thirds of the Senate put beneficiaries first by declaring their support for the Medicare Advantage coverage their constituents actively choose and need,” said Mary Beth Donahue, President and CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance. “That such ideologically, geographically diverse members of the Senate would find common ground on this issue is a testament to their steadfast commitment to seniors and to what Medicare Advantage is already doing: delivering better health outcomes, more benefits, lower consumer costs, and marking a path to a more equitable health care future. With ongoing bipartisan support in Washington, this work will continue.”
“Better Medicare Alliance salutes Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tim Scott (R-SC), and their 61 co-signers for their leadership in protecting this coverage lifeline for seniors,” continued Donahue. “Their efforts are working. Already, CMS delivered a preliminary rate announcement that protects beneficiaries’ coverage in 2023 and guards against disruptions in care. As we work to ensure those policies are reflected in the final rate announcement, this overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate letter will help make certain these gains for seniors are not lost.”
Read the lawmakers’ letter to CMS here. Signers are listed below:
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) – lead
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) – lead
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Sen. John Boozman (R-AR)
Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN)
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND)
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS)
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ)
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA)
Sen. Angus King (I-ME)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK)
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI)
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID)
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD)
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE)
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN)
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)
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