Amid growing public debate over how best to analyze spending on MA versus traditional Medicare, Dr. Amol Navathe stepped into the lion’s den to defend MedPAC’s work.

WASHINGTON — The leader of an influential congressional advisory group is defending its estimates of Medicare Advantage overpayments amid growing controversy over how to best analyze spending in the privatized Medicare program.

Dr. Amol Navathe, the chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, took the stage during an MA industry event in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday in support of the group’s research that the U.S. government is set to spend 14% more — an extra $76 billion — this year on seniors that opt into MA than it would if those same beneficiaries went into traditional Medicare.

MedPAC isn’t interested in making MA look bad, Navathe said at the event hosted by the Better Medicare Alliance, an influential MA lobby.

The estimate that MA costs 14% more than traditional Medicare doesn’t mean MedPAC is advocating for a 14% cut to MA. Instead, the legislative agency’s goal is to support competition in the popular Medicare alternative and produce reliable research that spurs meaningful conversations about potential reform, according to Navathe, who was named MedPAC’s chair in May.

“W e hope that as we put evidence out there and raise issues and questions out there, that stakeholders will engage with them in serious fashion and provide meaningful, substantive feedback. There are opportunities for us to refine our methods and to improve our work, and we’re aspiring to do that,” he said.

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