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Statement of ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray on House Ways and Means Hearing on Medicare Extenders
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 17, 2017
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515
STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY ON HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE HEARING ON MEDICARE EXTENDERS
WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), issued the following statement on the eve of a hearing of the House Committee on Ways and Means on the Current Status of the Medicare Program, Payment Systems, and Extenders:
“Tomorrow’s hearing brings into sharp relief the need for a permanent or long-term reauthorization of the Special Needs Program for people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.
“Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) play an important role in delivering integrated health benefits to people who qualify for Medicare and Medicaid benefits. These plans customize their interventions and care management techniques to meet the distinct needs of the dually eligible population. D-SNPs have been reauthorized several times with bipartisan support, but through a series of short-term extensions. As it stands, the program’s authorization expires at the end of 2018.
“While the end of 2018 seems far away, the absence of a long-term authorization in practice destabilizes the program for beneficiaries, states, health plans, and providers. The lack of certainty inherent in a series of short-term authorization impedes states and plans from entering longer-term partnerships and investments in integration with Medicaid.
“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. The real progress there can be replicated here through a permanent or long-term reauthorization of the D-SNP program, and ACAP, along with its 24 member plans that operate SNPs, stand ready to help Congress achieve that goal.”
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.