Press Release

Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. joined more than 30 Members of Congress today calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to withdraw their proposed rule change for Medicare Part D. (Text of letter below.) This rule would significantly change the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, impacting the choice and affordability of drug coverage for nearly 13 million beneficiaries.

In response, CMS has announced they will delay some of the most concerning parts of the new rule and gather more input.

“As a doctor, I know firsthand how critical protecting Medicare is for seniors,” said Bera. “We must honor the promises we have made to our seniors so they can get the health care they need after a lifetime of hard work. That means they shouldn’t have to worry about losing the affordable prescription drug coverage that works for them. I’m glad that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services listened to our concerns, and will reevaluate the portions of their proposed rule change that could hurt seniors.”

Earlier this month, more than 250 stakeholder groups, including patient, consumer, industry, and chronic disease groups also contacted CMS and urged the agency to withdraw the proposed rule that would drastically alter Part D by increasing beneficiary costs, eliminating beneficiary plan options, and increase costs for the federal government by billions of dollars. Currently, the Part D program has a 90 percent beneficiary satisfaction and costs 40 percent less (more than $200 billion) than initial CBO estimates, providing quality and affordability to millions of seniors.

Text of letter:

Dear Administrator Tavenner:

We are writing to urge you to withdraw the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Part D proposed rule (CMS-4159-P). We are deeply concerned that this rule threatens to cause disruption for millions of Part D enrollees this fall during 2015 Open Enrollment and inflict significant harm to the successful Part D model that has resulted in high enrollee satisfaction and lower-than-expected costs.

Over the past decade, Medicare Part D has been a model for government and industry cooperation in health care. The program has maintained stable, affordable average monthly premiums, enjoys a 90 percent approval rating among beneficiaries, and has cost nearly $200 billion less than original Congressional Budget Office projections. This tremendous success has been achieved through Medicare Part D’s unique model, which promotes robust competition among plans to serve Medicare beneficiaries while ensuring they meet strict coverage, quality, and service standards enforced by CMS.

We are very concerned that the proposed rule will jeopardize the effectiveness and benefits of Medicare Part D, including beneficiary access to lower-premium drug plans. Lower-premium drug plans – some as low as $12.60 a month – account for around 70% of total stand-alone Part D enrollment. Enrollees in lower-premium plans are overwhelmingly satisfied, citing lower costs, convenient access to pharmacies, and other benefits. Research even shows that many of the lower-premium plans have the same or better average quality ratings than plans with higher premiums. We fear this proposed rule could restrict plan choice and access to needed drugs for seniors who choose lower-premium plans.

In light of the success of Medicare Part D and our strong concerns with the sweeping changes being considered by CMS, we ask that you withdraw the proposed rule.

Sincerely,

Patrick E. Murphy
Member of Congress

Joe Garcia
Member of Congress

Ron Barber
Member of Congress

Ami Bera
Member of Congress

Tony Cárdenas
Member of Congress

John Carney
Member of Congress

André Carson
Member of Congress

Katherine Clark
Member of Congress

Wm. Lacy Clay
Member of Congress

Jim Costa
Member of Congress

Henry Cuellar
Member of Congress

Suzan DelBene
Member of Congress

Elizabeth Esty
Member of Congress

Chaka Fattah
Member of Congress

Marcia Fudge
Member of Congress

Alcee L. Hastings
Member of Congress

Denny Heck
Member of Congress

Rush Holt
Member of Congress

Steve Israel
Member of Congress

Hank Johnson
Member of Congress

Derek Kilmer
Member of Congress

Ann M. Kuster
Member of Congress

Barbara Lee
Member of Congress

Sean Patrick Maloney
Member of Congress

Jim Matheson
Member of Congress

Gregory Meeks
Member of Congress

Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Member of Congress

Gary Peters
Member of Congress

Scott Peters
Member of Congress

Collin Peterson
Member of Congress

Jared Polis
Member of Congress

Mike Quigley
Member of Congress

Raul Ruiz
Member of Congress

Linda Sánchez
Member of Congress

Brad Schneider
Member of Congress

Kurt Schrader
Member of Congress

David Scott
Member of Congress

Kyrsten Sinema
Member of Congress

Albio Sires
Member of Congress

Eric Swalwell
Member of Congress

Bennie Thompson
Member of Congress

Marc Veasey
Member of Congress

Frederica Wilson
Member of Congress

Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. represents Sacramento County. Born and raised in California, Bera is a physician and the only Indian American currently serving in Congress. He’s fighting to rebuild an economy that works for middle class families and to reduce our country’s debt in a responsible way. One of Bera’s first acts in Congress was to help lead the effort to pass the No Budget No Pay Act, which says if members of Congress don’t pass a budget, they don’t get paid. As a leader of the No Labels' Problem Solvers, he’s working with people from both parties to find bipartisan solutions to our nation’s challenges. He and his wife Janine live in Elk Grove with their daughter Sydra. For more updates on Rep. Bera follow @RepBera on Twitter, like Congressman Bera on Facebook, or visit https://www.bera.house.gov.