Leaders of the NRLN, Retiree Associations and NRLN Chapters will be in Washington, DC, February 24-26 to lobby Congress about prescription drug pricing; protecting retirees in pension plan de-risking; corporate mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs; pension recoupment and life insurance protection. Prior to going on Capitol Hill, attendees will be briefed on these issues along with a presentation I will make to prepare them to educate members of Congress and their staffs on Medicare Privatization, A Bait and Switch Failure!
I’ve done a video that covers much of the presentation I will make at our briefing session. Go to www.nrln.org or www.facebook.com/nrln1 to view the video.
Current and past Congresses and administrations have known the Medicare funding crises was coming but did not focus on cost-reducing prescription drugs, medical equipment and services purchased from hospitals, doctors and others.
Instead, they used rebates (the Bait) to subsidize insurance company benefits that tempt those turning age 65 and current original Medicare enrollees to buy Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, knowing that eventually all costs will have to be absorbed by these new plans thus switching costs off the federal budget to those over age 65 (the Switch).
Congress funded 19 new benefits for 20 million MA plan enrollees in 2020 that are denied to 40 million in original Medicare. A Feb. 5, 2020 letter signed by 338 members of Congress from both parties urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Administrator to add more benefits to MA plans in 2021.
This is discrimination and steps outside the reality that Medicare C (MA plans) is Medicare, managed by private insurers and funded by the CMS using our tax dollars. Rebates to insurance companies are sucking the life out of the original Medicare Part A trust and the Part B and D trust.
I encourage you watch the video and help us tell Congress to “grandfather” all present MA plan enrollees and no longer award these phony rebates. Or, make all subsidized Medicare benefits available to all Medicare beneficiaries. Click here to compose your own message to email to your members of Congress.
Bill Kedereit, President
National Retiree Legislative Network