WASHINGTON   –  U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) responded to news that fully half of Americans enrolled in the Medicare Advantage supplemental insurance program could lose coverage under the new health care law in 2017.  The announcement comes from the chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“The cuts to Medicare contained in the health care bill will disproportionately affect Americans enrolled in the supplemental insurance program, where reimbursements for care will be frozen and then cut,” Emerson said.  “For senior citizens who rely on supplemental insurance, who want that safety and stability and are willing to pay for it, this cut to the program will very much affect the quality of their insurance.  It’s a tough choice we wouldn’t have to make if this bill focused on creating savings in health care rather than paying for a monstrous new role for government in the American system.”

CMS estimates that, “in 2017, when the MA provisions will be fully phased in, enrollment in MA plans will be lower by about 50 percent (from its projected level of 14.8 million under the prior law to 7.4 million under the new law).”

The health care law, with some $500 billion in cuts to various aspects of Medicare, is expected to change insurance coverage most for Americans who purchase the additional Medicare Advantage coverage, while those enrolled only in the basic benefit will not see much change in their health care.

“If the scenario outlined by CMS comes to pass, there will be some 7.4 million Americans with less insurance coverage in 2017 than they had before this law was passed.  Not only does this estimate reveal a serious flaw in this bill, it also demonstrates how special deals and special interests surpassed concerns about ordinary Americans like the senior citizens in Southern Missouri who depend on Medicare Advantage,” Emerson said.

Emerson opposed the health care law, and says this latest development is further proof that pieces of the legislation need to be revised and replaced.

“Americans were told that under this plan, if they liked their doctor they would be able to keep their doctor.  If they liked their insurance, they would be able to keep it.  The analysis coming out today, from the same Administration that made these promises, tells a much different story to millions of Americans who have serious concerns about the size, scope and cost of this new policy,” Emerson said.