HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is warning that Republican efforts to defund the healthcare reform law could end up halting all payments to Medicare Advantage plans, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
In a letter to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Ms. Sebelius warned that if the GOP defunding measure were passed, HHS would be prevented from paying any reimbursements to Medicare Advantage plans, which cover 11 million Medicare beneficiaries.
Republicans, who support the privately run Medicare Advantage plans, propose in their defunding measure to stop the reform law from reducing federal subsidies for Medicare Advantage. Ms. Sebelius concluded that because the reform law wipes out the old rates for Medicare Advantage and the GOP defunding bill would wipe out the reform law's rates, there would be no rates at all.
House Republicans responded that Ms. Sebelius has authority to use $1 billion in reform implementation funds, protected from their defunding efforts, to keep on funding Medicare Advantage plans.
Read the Wall Street Journal report on Secretary Sebelius' letter to Sen. Baucus.
Read more coverage of GOP efforts to defund healthcare reform.
- GOP Leaders Make Plans to Defund Reform, Cut Medicare, Medicaid
- Five Reform Provisions Targeted for Defunding
In a letter to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Ms. Sebelius warned that if the GOP defunding measure were passed, HHS would be prevented from paying any reimbursements to Medicare Advantage plans, which cover 11 million Medicare beneficiaries.
Republicans, who support the privately run Medicare Advantage plans, propose in their defunding measure to stop the reform law from reducing federal subsidies for Medicare Advantage. Ms. Sebelius concluded that because the reform law wipes out the old rates for Medicare Advantage and the GOP defunding bill would wipe out the reform law's rates, there would be no rates at all.
House Republicans responded that Ms. Sebelius has authority to use $1 billion in reform implementation funds, protected from their defunding efforts, to keep on funding Medicare Advantage plans.
Read the Wall Street Journal report on Secretary Sebelius' letter to Sen. Baucus.
Read more coverage of GOP efforts to defund healthcare reform.
- GOP Leaders Make Plans to Defund Reform, Cut Medicare, Medicaid
- Five Reform Provisions Targeted for Defunding