[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 49 (Thursday, March 27, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H2700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MEDICARE ADVANTAGE CUTS PROPOSED FOR 2015 WOULD BE SHORTSIGHTED AND 
                           COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

  (Mr. MURPHY of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MURPHY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, with all the questions 
surrounding health insurance today, it is vital that seniors can keep 
the health care coverage on which they depend. I remain committed to 
working in a bipartisan manner to address the long-term drivers of our 
debt. I also understand we must consider the impact the decisions we 
make have on real Americans.
  Recent efforts to bring Medicare Advantage payments in line with 
traditional Medicare makes sense if you think of the budget solely as 
numbers on a spreadsheet; but we are seeing these cuts resulting in 
smaller networks of doctors, cuts to add-on benefits, and higher out-
of-pocket limits, shifting the cost and burden onto our Nation's 
seniors on fixed incomes.
  The Medicare Advantage cuts proposed for 2015 would be shortsighted 
and counterproductive if it meant elimination of health care 
innovations and led to hospital readmissions and worse health outcomes.
  I add my voice to the growing bipartisan chorus calling for no more 
cuts to seniors on Medicare Advantage. I urge the administration to 
keep the rates flat for this year, protecting seniors' continued access 
to health care choices that they have earned after a lifetime of hard 
work.

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