Letter: To Leslie V. Norwalk, Esq., Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Letter

Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL), has sent a letter to the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demanding that refunds be promptly issued to seniors who were improperly charged premiums by Medicare. South Florida Reps. Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and Ron Klein (D-FL) also signed onto the letter.

Beginning in 2006 many Medicare beneficiaries were erroneously charged premiums in association with their membership in health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Despite being aware of the problem, CMS has failed to resolve it, and premiums continue to be charged to some seniors 15 months after the problem first arose. Compounding the problem, during an attempt to fix the problem last August, CMS caused tremendous confusion by providing erroneous refunds to certain Medicare beneficiaries.

"Our seniors deserve better," said Wexler on Monday. "Through the total ineptitude of the federal bureaucracy many Medicare beneficiaries - who largely live on fixed incomes - are now dealing with a major imposition in their lives. This is unacceptable and it must be addressed immediately."

The letter sent by Wexler, Hastings, Wasserman Schultz, and Klein is attached below.

Congressman Wexler is Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee, a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Judiciary Committee, and he also sits on the Financial Services Committee.

April 18, 2007

Leslie V. Norwalk, Esq.
Acting Administrator
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
200 Independence Avenue
Washington, DC 20201

Dear Ms. Norwalk:

We are writing in reference to Medicare's computer debacle that has resulted in thousands of seniors waiting over a year for a refund on their Part B premiums. This is a completely unacceptable situation that has forced undue hardship on our nation's most vulnerable senior citizens and must be addressed at once.

As we are sure you are aware, many Medicare beneficiaries who join health maintenance organizations (HMO's) have part or all of their Medicare Part B premiums paid for by the HMOs; hence, the Social Security Administration (SSA) should not deduct the premium. Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which receives payments from the HMOs, is supposed to notify SSA not to deduct the premium, but failed in its duty to do so. As a result, the premiums have continued to be unfairly deducted from beneficiaries with no immediate resolution in sight. We have constituents who have waited over 15 months for this problem to be resolved and to obtain their refunds. Even with the help of our offices, it has taken some constituents many months to receive their refunds and many are still waiting. Our congressional offices have contacted your office, but CMS has not even given us a time frame by which this issue will be resolved.

In August 2006, several months after the end of the Medicare Part D sign up period, CMS attempted to correct this mess only to create an even bigger problem. A massive computer glitch caused 230,000 Medicare beneficiaries to receive erroneous refunds. This caused tremendous confusion and hardship among our constituents, many of whom had to return the money they erroneously received. Now, eight-months after the massive computer glitch and 15 months after the ongoing computer troubles, CMS has still not rectified this matter.

Ms. Norwalk, our seniors deserve better. We, therefore, respectfully ask that you provide our offices with a direct and comprehensive update on this unacceptable situation and demand that CMS immediately fix this problem. Seniors citizens, many of whom are on fixed incomes, should not have to wait a minute longer. It is time that they receive the money they rightly deserve.

We thank you for your urgent attention to the matter and look forward to a prompt reply.

Sincerely,

Robert Wexler
Alcee L. Hastings
Ron Klein
Debbie Wasserman Schultz