policy
ACAP Board Chair John Lovelace Testifies Before Senate Finance Committee on Improvements to Chronic Care
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2017
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515
ACAP BOARD CHAIR JOHN LOVELACE TESTIFIES BEFORE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
ON IMPROVEMENTS TO CHRONIC CARE IN MEDICARE
WASHINGTON—John Lovelace, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), President, Government Programs and Individual Advantage for UPMC Health Plan and President, UPMC for You today delivered testimony at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on bipartisan Medicare policies that improve care for patients with chronic conditions. The hearing centered on S.870, the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2017.
In testimony submitted before the committee in support of the Act, Mr. Lovelace expressed support for the bill. “We are proud to support this legislation and grateful for the opportunity to discuss the critical issues of care coordination and improved health care services for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic care needs,” he noted.
He highlighted the bill’s provisions that would permanently authorize Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (SNP). “[T]he program integration that is necessary to truly realize the value and effectiveness of SNPs requires significant administrative effort and long-term investment in Medicare-Medicaid coordinating activities,” he said. “Faced with uncertainty regarding continued authorization, some States undoubtedly place otherwise promising integration initiatives on the shelf for fear that they invest limited resources into constructs or models that could be invalidated in a few short years.”
ACAP CEO Meg Murray echoed support for the provisions permanently authorizing the SNP program. “D-SNPs have been reauthorized several times with bipartisan support, but through a series of short-term extensions,” she said. “Congress has worked in a bipartisan way in recent years to pull aspects of the Medicare program off the annual reauthorization treadmill – most notably through its work on the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate. We’re optimistic that such progress is replicable and stand ready to help.”
To see Mr. Lovelace’s full testimony, visit https://www.finance.senate.gov/download/05162017-lovelace-testimony.
About ACAP
ACAP represents 60 not-for-profit Safety Net Health Plans, which provide health coverage to more than seventeen million people in 29 states. Safety Net Health Plans serve their members through Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Marketplace and other health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.