Letter to Hon. Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, and the Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker - Call for Medicare Expansion

Letter

Dear Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi:

Thank you for your continued leadership to ensure a robust Build Back Better Act is passed and
enacted for the well-being of all Americans, especially vulnerable seniors and people with long term
disabilities. As Congress negotiates the final Build Back Better package, we request you to prioritize
the inclusion of expanding Medicare coverage to include dental, vision, and hearing benefits.
Expanding Medicare has support from overwhelming bipartisan majorities of the American
people. A recent poll found that 84 percent of the participants, including more than three-quarters
of Republicans, support expanding Medicare benefit coverage to include dental, hearing, and vision.

As you are aware, Medicare today does not cover dental, vision, or hearing services, with very
limited exceptions. Because few people have supplemental insurance covering these additional
services, among people who received care, 75 percent of their costs of dental and hearing services
and 60 percent of their costs of vision services were paid out of pocket. On average, annual out-ofpocket spending was $914 for hearing care, $874 for dental care, and $230 for vision care. As a
result, among Medicare beneficiaries, 75 percent of people who needed a hearing aid did not have
one; 70 percent of people who had trouble eating because of their teeth did not go to the dentist in
the past year; and 43 percent of people who had trouble seeing did not have an eye exam in the past
year.

Neglecting dental, vision and hearing issues often has a cascading effect on one's physical,
psychological, and emotional health--making it even more critical that we ensure all Medicare
beneficiaries have affordable access to these vital health services.

* Dental problems, and their accompanying inflammation and bacteria, can worsen other
chronic conditions, like diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, missing or sore teeth can
make it hard to eat a healthy diet and frequently leads to malnutrition.

* Hearing loss increases the risk of dementia, fall, and depression and may increase social
isolation and reduce cognitive function.

* Poor vision is associated with an increased risk of falls, depression, cognitive impairment,
hospitalization, and limited mobility.

Ensuring that older adults and people with long-term disability or end-stage renal disease have
dental, hearing, and vision benefits has long been a priority for Congress. These services were
included in H.R. 3 that passed the House of Representatives in the 116th Congress, and we need
to deliver on this promise.

We now have an opportunity to ensure the expansion of Medicare in the Build Back Better
Act--guaranteeing health care for millions of older adults and people with disabilities.
Therefore, we encourage you to maintain the expansion and improvement of Medicare in the
Build Back Better Act. Thank you for your consideration of this request.