[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18790]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            HCFA'S BAD ADVICE TO SENIOR CITIZENS IN HOUSTON

  (Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, during the August district work 
period, I sponsored a senior citizens forum with invitations to 
representatives from the Social Security Administration and the Health 
Care Financing Administration, and they participated.
  Seniors do want a prescription drug benefit as part of Medicare, but 
Houston seniors are worried because, at the end of December, they will 
be losing our biggest HMO provider for Medicare, NYLCare-65, one of our 
largest. They have given notice that they are not going to serve the 
Houston market. HCFA advised the over 100 seniors in attendance, some 
of whom are currently enrolled in NYLCare-65, not to worry, not to do 
anything until after October 1. That way they would have 3 months to 
decide where they would go before the end of the year because the 
contract lasted until December 31. This included enrolling in the one 
sole remaining HMO in the Houston market, Secure Horizons.
  Yesterday, I found out that HCFA has granted a temporary capacity 
waiver to Secure Horizons, which basically freezes their enrollments 
effective October 1 for 120 days to February 1. This temporary capacity 
waiver will keep seniors from being able to have the opportunity to 
select the one remaining HMO. HCFA should have notified us; and they 
gave my constituents false information in August.

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