Camp, Herger Question Administration’s Decision to Force Seniors Out of Their Medicare Prescription Drug Plans

Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Wally Herger (R-CA) today sent Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius a letter inquiring about the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to eliminate certain Medicare Part D prescription drug plans that could force 3 million seniors out of their current plan. Camp and Herger expressed particular concerns that CMS would automatically enroll more than 1.5 million seniors in a plan with premiums 15 percent higher than seniors are currently paying.

The Republicans said: “We are alarmed that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has arbitrarily decided to limit beneficiaries’ choice of Part D prescription drug plans…We hereby request that CMS immediately provide all documents and correspondence related to CMS’ decision to eliminate prescription drug plans over the last two years, including any analysis that was conducted to determine the impact such decisions would have on premiums of displaced beneficiaries so that Congress can consider how best to protect seniors from such decisions in the future."

The full letter can be read here.