Capital District Times

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Representative Nick Langworthy have co-led a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) advocating for the Medicare Advantage program. In the letter, the lawmakers express their support for the program and urge CMS to ensure that the 2025 Medicare Advantage Final Rate notice accurately reflects the increases in healthcare costs.

“We write on behalf of over 33 million Americans and more than 2 million New Yorkers to express our support for the Medicare Advantage program and ask the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to bring stability to seniors in 2025 through a rate environment in the Calendar Year 2025 Final Rate Notice that accounts for increases in utilization and rising inflation,” stated Stefanik and Langworthy in their letter.

The lawmakers highlighted the importance of aligning the final rates with the most recent data on utilization and costs to provide peace of mind to Medicare Advantage seniors. They emphasized the need for accurate reflection of increasing health care utilization and costs to ensure that seniors continue to receive high-quality, affordable care and supplemental benefits through the program.

The letter pointed out inconsistencies in CMS’s projections for growth and utilization trends compared to provider experiences, beneficiary patterns, and inflation rates. Stefanik and Langworthy stressed the significance of basing the 2025 Medicare Advantage Final Rate notice on reliable data to safeguard the program for years to come.

For more information, the full letter can be accessed on the official website of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik at the following link: https://stefanik.house.gov/2024/3/stefanik-advocates-for-medicare-advantage-program-servicing-over-2-million-new-yorkers.