Senators Concerned About Medicare Advantage Bids; New Rule for E-Prescribing from MedPage Today

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By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

A group of Democratic Congressmembers wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week urging her to closely review Medicare Advantage plan bids for 2011.

Insurance companies that run Medicare Advantage plans have until June 7 to submit their bids to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Insurance companies should justify any proposed increased in premiums or benefits for seniors in the plans, the group -- Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), along with Reps. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J) -- said in the letter.

"Health care reform strengthened Medicare and made Medicare Advantage more competitive, but it is critical that we don't let private insurance companies use these changes as an excuse to raise premiums or cut benefits for seniors to bolster their own bottom line," Sen. Baucus said in a statement accompanying the letter's release.
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