The Government Accountability Office showed that CMS cracked down on a Medicare Advantage plan's member communications after the plan warned members the healthcare reform bill could reduce their benefits, according to a report by the Hill.
During the healthcare reform debate in summer 2009, HHS ordered Humana to stop sending such letters to members and then extended the order to all Medicare Advantage plans.
GAO called these actions "unusual." But CMS said in response that they were "appropriate under the circumstances" given "the degree of potential harm to beneficiaries." The agency took issue with the word "unusual," saying it suggested "inappropriate" activity. GAO, however, did not withdraw the word.
The office of Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who requested the report, suggested CMS' action was politically motivated. "This report is more evidence that in their efforts to pass healthcare legislation by any means necessary, the majority was willing to pressure CMS into taking the unprecedented step of halting all communications between Medicare Advantage providers and their beneficiaries," Mr. Barton's office said.
Read the Hill report on healthcare reform.
Read more on healthcare reform:
- HHS Secretary Seems to be Bullying Insurers, Congressmen Say
- HHS Warns Insurers Against Pinning High Rate Increases on Reforms
- HHS Sec. Sebelius Calls on Anthem Blue Cross of California to Justify Rate Hikes
During the healthcare reform debate in summer 2009, HHS ordered Humana to stop sending such letters to members and then extended the order to all Medicare Advantage plans.
GAO called these actions "unusual." But CMS said in response that they were "appropriate under the circumstances" given "the degree of potential harm to beneficiaries." The agency took issue with the word "unusual," saying it suggested "inappropriate" activity. GAO, however, did not withdraw the word.
The office of Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who requested the report, suggested CMS' action was politically motivated. "This report is more evidence that in their efforts to pass healthcare legislation by any means necessary, the majority was willing to pressure CMS into taking the unprecedented step of halting all communications between Medicare Advantage providers and their beneficiaries," Mr. Barton's office said.
Read the Hill report on healthcare reform.
Read more on healthcare reform:
- HHS Secretary Seems to be Bullying Insurers, Congressmen Say
- HHS Warns Insurers Against Pinning High Rate Increases on Reforms
- HHS Sec. Sebelius Calls on Anthem Blue Cross of California to Justify Rate Hikes