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Senator
Claire McCaskill to hold Senate Aging
Committee Hearing in St. Louis… Hearing will
investigate unscrupulous insurance practices
aimed at seniors in the state
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Missourians over the age
of sixty-five rely on Medicare to ensure
they receive top-notch health care, but
insurance companies in the state may be
putting profits first. U.S. Senator Claire
McCaskill will hold a hearing of the Senate
Special Committee on Aging on Monday, June
30 to investigate the aggressive sales and
marketing of Medicare Advantage insurance
policies.
The hearing is entitled “What Seniors Don't
Know Before They Enroll - Aggressive Sales
of MA Plans in Missouri”.
Medicare Advantage allows seniors to receive
Medicare benefits through a private company,
but the program frequently results in
costing seniors more out-of-pocket and often
requires them to drive long distances to
receive care, hitting low-income and rural
seniors hardest.
Their access to the services, doctors and
hospitals they need may be lost while a
confusing fee structure leaves them paying
more than they can afford. Because of
federal pre-emption laws there is little the
state can do to protect them.
Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans,
however, has increased rapidly, growing over
11 percent nationally in the last six months
alone.
Special needs plans, marketed to individuals
suffering from chronic and debilitating
conditions, are growing quickly as well.
any seniors across Missouri are enrolled in
Medicare Advantage programs. For example, in
St. Louis County and St. Louis City, 25%
percent of eligible seniors are enrolled in
a Medicare Advantage program.
On the other side of the state, in Jackson
County 27% or seniors are enrolled and in
Greene County, 30% of seniors are enrolled.
Reports indicate that insurance companies
selling Medicare Advantage, including those
that operate in Missouri, use aggressive and
at times deceptive marketing to convince
seniors to enroll in their plans.
McCaskill’s office has received reports from
health care providers, the state health
insurance assistance program and the MO
Department of Insurance that some sales
agents are encouraging seniors to enroll in
programs that don’t match their needs.
As a result, some Medicare Advantage
enrollees are foregoing health services
because of the higher co-payments or the
cost of traveling long distances to receive
care.
In a hearing to be held at the St. Louis
Senior Center, McCaskill will question
witnesses, including a senior who was misled
into enrolling in an unsuitable Medicare
Advantage program.
State Senator Wes
Shoemyer, who has championed this issue on
the state level, officials from the Missouri
Department of Insurance, and an insurance
company official that sells this type of
health insurance plan will testify as well.
A full list of witnesses is available
below.
Monday, June 30, 2008
-
Medicare Advantage Field Hearing
WHO: U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill
Senate Special Committee on Aging
WHAT: Senate Special
Committee on Aging Field Hearing
investigating Medicare Advantage policies in
Missouri
WHEN: 9:00 A.M. CT
Monday, June 30, 2008
WHERE: St. Louis Senior Center
5602 Arsenal
St. Louis, MO 63139
|
WITNESSES:
|
Mary Kempker
Consumer Affairs Director
Missouri Department of Insurance
|
Kathryn Coleman
Associate Regional Administrator
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
|
|
|
Rona McNally
Missouri Medicare Control Project
Care Connection |
Robb Cohen
Chief Government Affairs Officer
XLHealth |
|
|
Gloria Maples, Troy MO
Wes Shoemyer, Missouri Senator
|
Carol Beahan, BS
Director of CLAIM
MO State Health Insurance Assistance
|
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