Biden admin to spend billions to blunt spike in Medicare
Aug 30, 2024 18:22:01 GMT -6
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Post by megaman on Aug 30, 2024 18:22:01 GMT -6
Biden admin to spend billions to blunt spike in Medicare drug premiums
The move to protect some older Americans from higher costs would come just ahead of the election.
One of President Joe Biden’s signature domestic achievements is set to cause a significant spike in Medicare premiums for millions of Americans just ahead of the November election. Now, his administration is preparing to dole out billions of dollars to private insurance companies to blunt the impact of the increase.
The jump in premiums is a consequence of efforts to reduce what older Americans pay for prescription drugs, part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Insurance companies are on the hook for what patients used to pay and are raising drug plan premiums to make up the difference.
The jump in premiums is a consequence of efforts to reduce what older Americans pay for prescription drugs, part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Insurance companies are on the hook for what patients used to pay and are raising drug plan premiums to make up the difference.
The new premiums will be released in mid-to-late September and could open up the Harris-Walz campaign to a spate of negative headlines. Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly touted the Biden administration’s efforts to lower Medicare costs and weaved the idea through her remarks on growing the “care economy.” A drastic uptick in health insurance premiums a few weeks before the election could muddy that message and give Republicans an easy line of attack, especially as inflation remains a critical presidential campaign issue.
But efforts to alleviate the increase — by giving health insurers an extra $15 per member a month — have Republicans accusing the administration of attempting to buy a reprieve for a reliable voting bloc. Though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has the authority to test changes to Medicare payments and reimbursements, and noted it has done similar projects in the past, Republicans argue that this latest effort has no clear statutory basis or credible research goals.
“It’s using the federal treasury for political advantage,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). “This is a way for the executive branch to implement a policy which has very positive political ramifications for them, but with very sketchy legal standing.”
Top Republicans in Congress have asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the program, saying, “the integrity of the Medicare program and the taxpayer dollars that finance its benefits demand more than partisan aspirations to justify extra-statutory, eleventh-hour policy changes.”
“Consideration of these types of programmatic changes should fall within the purview of the legislative branch,” Senate Finance Committee ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) recently wrote to the GAO.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Under the administration plan, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would give participating Medicare prescription drug plans the $15 subsidy and restrict how much insurers can raise premium rates year over year. The deadline for insurance plans to say whether they will participate has passed and CMS said it is assessing the responses.
But efforts to alleviate the increase — by giving health insurers an extra $15 per member a month — have Republicans accusing the administration of attempting to buy a reprieve for a reliable voting bloc. Though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has the authority to test changes to Medicare payments and reimbursements, and noted it has done similar projects in the past, Republicans argue that this latest effort has no clear statutory basis or credible research goals.
“It’s using the federal treasury for political advantage,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). “This is a way for the executive branch to implement a policy which has very positive political ramifications for them, but with very sketchy legal standing.”
Top Republicans in Congress have asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the program, saying, “the integrity of the Medicare program and the taxpayer dollars that finance its benefits demand more than partisan aspirations to justify extra-statutory, eleventh-hour policy changes.”
“Consideration of these types of programmatic changes should fall within the purview of the legislative branch,” Senate Finance Committee ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) recently wrote to the GAO.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Under the administration plan, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would give participating Medicare prescription drug plans the $15 subsidy and restrict how much insurers can raise premium rates year over year. The deadline for insurance plans to say whether they will participate has passed and CMS said it is assessing the responses.
The agency estimated the first year of the three-year project will cost about $5 billion if all standalone plan sponsors participate.
“The effort would set a nasty and costly precedent, whereby any administration of either party could cut premiums by executive fiat with zero accountability or recourse,” said a Senate Republican aide granted anonymity to discuss the GOP’s thinking. “There’s no reason to believe this won’t become the norm for any and every election year moving forward.”
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“The effort would set a nasty and costly precedent, whereby any administration of either party could cut premiums by executive fiat with zero accountability or recourse,” said a Senate Republican aide granted anonymity to discuss the GOP’s thinking. “There’s no reason to believe this won’t become the norm for any and every election year moving forward.”
more...