government
GOP seeks White House records on embattled Medicare demo
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 27, 2012
The Obama administration needs to be more forthcoming with information about a Medicare bonus program for private insurers, House Republicans said in an Aug. 9 letter.
GOP lawmakers have criticized an $8 billion demonstration program that rewards some health plans participating in Medicare Advantage for average performance. The Government Accountability Office also has reprimanded the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for launching a nationwide initiative that lacks incentives for insurers to improve quality. The GAO has called on the administration to abandon the program.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (R, Mich.) and Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Chair Cliff Stearns (R, Fla.) have asked officials from CMS and the Dept. of Health and Human Services to release emails and letters pertaining to the creation of the program. These documents may shed light on why the bonus program was created, the lawmakers said.
“The committee continues to be concerned that this demonstration program is merely masking the looming Medicare Advantage cuts [under the health system reform law], and that the program is in serious jeopardy because of the magnitude of cuts, which the government’s own actuary estimates will result in the loss of 50% of the enrollment in Medicare Advantage,” the letter states.
CMS officials have defended the program by noting enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans continues to increase while costs have dropped.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/08/27/gvbf0827.htm.
