Lance Urges Administration to Keep The Promise to Seniors

Statement

Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, joined like-minded members of Congress in sending a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Acting Administrator urging the Obama Administration to reverse course on its proposed changes to the popular and successful Medicare Advantage (MA) program.

The members write, "The newly proposed cuts [to the Medicare Advantage program] could represent a significant threat to the health and financial security of seniors in our congressional districts who rely on their Medicare Advantage plans to meet their health care needs."

Today nearly one-third of senior citizens are enrolled in the popular MA program, including more than 200,000 in New Jersey. A recent state-by-state analysis by Oliver Wyman & Company suggests that the proposed cuts and policies put forth by the Obama Administration would cost New Jersey MA beneficiaries, on average, an additional $100 to $120 per month -- the fifth-highest.

Congressman Lance is joining a bipartisan coalition of members of Congress in urging the Administration to reverse course on proposed policy changes. Lance and others wrote, "We strongly believe that cuts to MA benefits would be deeply unfair to millions of our constituents who are counting on Congress and the Administration to stabilize the program….we urge you to protect Medicare beneficiaries by reversing the proposed payment cuts and providing a stable policy environment for the MA program."

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