Washington, D.C. – House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-IL) and House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) issued the following statements after leading a letter, along with 42 Republican Members of both Committees, to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma regarding their annual Advance Notice and Draft Call Letter proposing new rates and policies for the Medicare Advantage Program for 2019:

“It is a priority of this Subcommittee to improve and protect Medicare Advantage for our seniors. I am encouraged to see the Administration included several proposals that will allow plans to offer high-quality, efficient, patient-centered coverage options for beneficiaries. I look forward to continuing to work with CMS to promote innovation and competition as well as flexibility and choice within Medicare,” said Chairman Roskam.

“I welcome many of the proposals included in CMS’s advanced notice for Medicare Advantage plans for 2019, which improve quality, patient-centered health care options for beneficiaries,” said Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX). “I join my colleagues in recommending improvements to several proposals, and I look forward to continuing to work with CMS and the Trump Administration to adopt policies that keep beneficiary costs low and preserve beneficiaries’ high-quality choices.”

CLICK HERE to read the full letter.