Medicare Improvement Bill: Take Action Today!

On Tuesday, June 24, (tomorrow) the House expects to vote on a bill to make important improvements to Medicare that will help seniors and people with disabilities get the health care they need. So call today.

This bill makes several important improvements to Medicare including:

Please contact your Representative and tell him/her to support the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, H.R. 6331.

Call 1-800-828-0498 and ask to be connected to your Representative.

A similar bill has been blocked so far in the Senate. It is therefore important that we convince as many House members as possible to stand with seniors and support this effort to improve Medicare.

For you wonks out there, here are the policy details:

Low-income improvements: H.R. 6331 would raise the asset limits for Medicare Savings Programs. These programs help low-income seniors and people with disabilities by covering the Medicare Part B premium (now about $93/month) and some Medicare cost-sharing. The asset limits have been unchanged since the 1980s ($4,000 for an individual/$6,000 for a couple). The bill would raise these limits to the still-modest level of $7,790/individual and $11,990/couple, and would index them to inflation.

Preventive and mental health services: H.R. 6331 would increase the availability of preventive services. It would allow the addition of preventive benefits to Medicare when they are appropriate, rather than requiring a separate act of Congress. The bill also reduces what beneficiaries must pay for mental health services from the current 50 percent to the regular Medicare coinsurance rate of 20 percent.

Medicare Advantage: The bill gives seniors more protections from abusive Medicare Advantage marketing. It also reduces overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans, and slows the growth of the Private Fee-for-Service plans that have been responsible for some of the worst abuses of seniors in recent years. For more information on the need to rein in Medicare Advantage, Click here.

Call 1-800-828-0498 and ask your Representative to support the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, H.R. 6331.

Thank you,
Marc Steinberg, Deputy Director, Health Policy, Families USA

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Tony Garr, tgarr@thcc2.org

Tennessee Health Care Campaign, www.thcc2.org