The CMS administrator’s comments Tuesday at an event hosted by an MA lobby suggest that the Trump administration remains interested in tougher oversight of the program.
According to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, regulating Medicare Advantage is like lovingly tending a garden — a garden increasingly attacked by weeds.
“We want to see [Americans] thrive in their old age, in a lush garden that sustains them,” Oz said in a prerecorded video aired Tuesday at a MA industry event in Washington, D.C. “Yet in recent years, our garden has laid vulnerable to weeds and overgrowth. And for too long, patients have paid the price both financially and physically.”
Oz’s comments are the latest sign that the Trump administration continues to take an interest in strengthening oversight of the privatized Medicare program amid research that MA is susceptible to profiteering by insurers and is costing more than it should.
“It’s one of our top priorities — to strengthen Medicare Advantage by ensuring plans deliver nothing short of exceptional care, all while responsibly stewarding taxpayer dollars,” Oz said at the event hosted by Better Medicare Alliance, an influential MA lobby.
MA, in which the government contracts with private insurers to administer benefits for Medicare seniors, is popular with beneficiaries. Upwards of 35 million Americans — more than half of all Medicare seniors — opted into an MA plan this year, attracted by lower upfront costs, caps on out-of-pocket spending and extra benefits like dental coverage, prepaid debit cards and gym memberships.
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