AMAC Supports Bill to Strengthen Medicare

AMAC has endorsed Congresswoman Terri Sewell’s (D AL-07) bipartisan legislation to efficiently streamline the testing done by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to improve the Medicare program and produce better outcomes for beneficiaries.

May 19, 2020

The Honorable Terri Sewell

7th Congressional District of Alabama

2201 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congresswoman Sewell,

On behalf of the 2.1 million members of AMAC – Association of Mature American Citizens, including the nearly 2000 residing in AL-07, I write to offer our support for H.R. 5741, the Strengthening Innovation in Medicare and Medicaid Act.

As an organization comprised of many Medicare beneficiaries, AMAC has long advocated for a cost-effective, efficiently managed Medicare program. The economic slowdown due to COVID-19 has intensified the need to act promptly to stabilize the program’s expenditures in order to perpetuate healthcare for the 52.6 million mature Americans it serves.

AMAC appreciates the research done by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) as it conducts demonstrations to help determine payment and service models designed to improve care and lower costs. However, recent demonstrations have proven to be too far-reaching and expensive while some have impeded access to care for beneficiaries, many of whom belong to an at-risk demographic.

H.R. 5741 recognizes the important work done by CMMI and incorporates protections into the processes including, limiting the scope of models to only the size needed to realize a statistically valid sample; encouraging feedback from beneficiaries in developing CMMI models; and limiting the testing of new payment and delivery models to five years to shield beneficiaries from being subjected to potentially harmful models. H.R. 5741 also provides for key Congressional oversight for CMMI demonstrations that will improve transparency and patient safety.

Thank you, Congresswoman Sewell, and your bipartisan cosponsors, for working to ensure CMMI produces outcomes that puts patients first and improves access to quality care. AMAC values you and your colleagues’ efforts and is pleased to offer our organization’s full support for H.R. 5741, the Strengthening Innovation in Medicare and Medicaid Act.

Sincerely,

Bob Carlstrom

President, AMAC Action