Hi,

Senator Bernie Sanders will take the helm of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee next month. Already, Politico reports, healthcare lobbyists are voicing concerns they’ll have a harder time swaying policy in the new Congress with Bernie at the helm of HELP.1

With a stalwart defender of affordable healthcare for ALL steering the Senate HELP committee, now is the perfect time to finally do away with Medicare Advantage — the private insurance option within Medicare. A recent New York Times report found that 9 of the top 10 private insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage plans have overbilled Medicare between $12 and $25 billion, taking money away from patients who really need resources.2 In order to protect Medicare, we must get private insurance companies OUT of Medicare.

Sign our petition: Congress must pass legislation to ban private insurance companies administering Medicare!

The New York Times report uncovered that private insurers are draining resources from Medicare and threatening one of our greatest public health insurance programs. 6 of the top 10 private insurers who administer Medicare Advantage plans have been accused of Medicare fraud by the U.S. government and whistleblowers.3 Many experts and advocates are urging people against choosing Advantage plans.2

Congress created Medicare Advantage 20 years ago to create a private alternative to traditional Medicare in order to provide better care at lower costs.2 Instead, costs have gone up and private insurance companies have siphoned billions from Medicare.

The corporate greed is disgusting. The New York Times reports that giant private insurers, “have developed elaborate systems to make their patients appear as sick as possible, often without providing additional treatment” so the insurers could charge those patients more for their Medicare plans.2

The American people clearly want government protection from private insurers’ abuses. So why are private insurers allowed to continue overbilling in Medicare Advantage—costing patients, the government, and taxpayers?

As of next year, more than half of all Medicare recipients may be using Medicare Advantage plans through private insurers.2 Private insurance companies are wasting taxpayer dollars, threatening the integrity of Medicare, and putting patients’ health at risk. We can’t let big corporations continue to suck away money from Medicare.

Sign our petition to protect Medicare and demand an end to private insurers’ interference in Medicare.

Thanks for taking action,

Izzi and the team at Demand Progress

Sources:

  1. Politico, “‘Not business as usual’: Health lobbyists brace for Bernie Sanders,” January 3, 2023.
  2. New York Times, “‘The Cash Monster Was Insatiable’: How Insurers Exploited Medicare for Billions,” October 8, 2022.
  3. Business Insider, “Popular Medicare Advantage plans have 'clear cases of overpayments and improper billing of US taxpayers,' advocates and analysts say,” December 5, 2022.

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