The Biden administration has made the decision to reduce base payments for Medicare Advantage plans by an average of .16 percent, despite facing opposition from Republicans and healthcare experts. This action follows Biden’s controversial adjustments to the risk adjusting coding system in order to supposedly improve the accuracy of Medicare Advantage payments.
The impact of Biden’s decision will be felt by over half of Medicare enrollees, particularly American seniors who rely on Medicare Advantage for their healthcare needs. Experts predict that seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage may experience reductions in their supplemental benefits or an increase in cost-sharing by $33 per month by 2025. Analyst Chris Meekins commented, “President Biden’s administration is taking a risk by assuming that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries won’t realize the benefits they are losing until January 2025.”
This move by Biden to cut Medicare Advantage contrasts with Trump’s statement to Breitbart News that he will not make any changes to Social Security or Medicare. This contradicts claims made by Biden and Democrats that Trump would reduce entitlement programs.
“I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” Trump explained. “We’ll have to do it elsewhere. But we’re not going to do anything to hurt them.”
According to a recent study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund in 2021, it was discovered that 90 percent of individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage expressed satisfaction with the healthcare services they received. This level of satisfaction is comparable to that of traditional Medicare. Furthermore, extensive research has demonstrated that Medicare Advantage surpasses Medicare in terms of 16 distinct clinical quality measures.
Republicans are furious over Biden’s decision to eliminate Medicare Advantage:
🚨 BREAKING: Biden just cut Medicare benefits AGAIN.
2.8 MILLION Florida seniors use Medicare Advantage & Biden's cuts will cost them an extra $400 per year. Biden's war on seniors is devastating & I’m fighting like hell to reverse this terrible decision.https://t.co/Q3YIajBXG1
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) April 3, 2024
The Biden White House attacks me for wanting to fix and save Medicare, meanwhile @JoeBiden is actively cutting Medicare for 33 million seniors. https://t.co/V5izi2MKbv
— Congressman Kevin Hern (@repkevinhern) April 2, 2024
Biden is cutting Medicare Advantage benefits for 33 million Americans—and hoping they don’t notice until after the November election.
Here’s how benefits for seniors are being cut.⬇https://t.co/zdhtmRid1E
— Heritage Action (@Heritage_Action) April 2, 2024