New Bill Would Ban Private Insurance Plans From Using ‘Medicare’ Name

Legislation unveiled Thursday by two House progressives would ban private insurers from using the “Medicare” label in plan titles and advertising, an effort to curb misleading marketing practices that for-profit health giants have used to expand their reach at great costs to patients and the federal government.

Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have introduced the bill called the Save Medicare Act which would change the official name of Medicare Advantage (MA) to “Alternative Private Health Plan” to make clear that for-profit companies offer such coverage.

“‘Medicare Advantage’ is just private insurance that profits by denying coverage, and the for-profit companies are using the name to trick seniors into enrolling. That’s not right,” Khanna said in a statement. “This bill will prevent these private insurers from labeling themselves as ‘Medicare’ and allow us to focus on strengthening and expanding real Medicare instead.”

To deter for-profit companies from using the Medicare name in its health insurance advertising, the bill proposes levying a $100,000 penalty for each use of the label in the title of a private plan.

According to the latest data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 28 million people—nearly half of the eligible Medicare population—are currently enrolled in MA plans that are supposed to follow rules that Medicare sets, which funds the privately run plans.

In practice, as The New York Times demonstrated this past weekend, MA is rife with fraud as private insurance giants frequently attempt to overbill Medicare, which funds the private plans that often skimp on care.

Despite longstanding accusations of fraud and abuse, MA plans continue to receive generous funding from the federal government. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that the private plans will see an average 8.5% revenue boost next year, one of the program’s largest-ever pay hikes.

“Only Medicare is Medicare. It is one of the most popular and important services the government provides,” Pocan said Thursday. “We should be working to expand this service to include coverage for dental, vision, and hearing care, as well as looking at ways to strengthen it rather than allowing these ‘Medicare Advantage’ programs to provide pale alternatives to what Medicare does.”

“These non-Medicare plans that private insurers run undermine traditional Medicare,” Pocan continued. “They often leave patients without the benefits they need while overcharging the federal government for corporate profit.”

The Save Medicare Act, Pocan argued, would eliminate “any confusion about what is—and what is not—Medicare” and ensure that “this essential program will continue to serve seniors and other Americans for years to come.”

The announcement of the new bill came days before the October 15 start of Medicare’s open enrollment period, which comes as advocates continue to raise alarm over the Biden administration’s decision to rebrand and sustain a Medicare privatization effort that began during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Now known as ACO Reach, some have dubbed the program as “Medicare Advantage on steroids.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org.