Ahead of Medicare’s Open Enrollment Deadline, Senators Work to Ensure Beneficiaries Who Receive Incorrect Information Are Made Aware of Ability to Revisit Their Coverage Choice
Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Ranking Member of the Special Committee on Aging, was joined by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tom Carper (D-DE) and 11 other Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The letter urges CMS to publicize the existence of a Special Enrollment Period for beneficiaries who enrolled in health care plans after using inaccurate information from Medicare’s newly redesigned Plan Finder tool.
“People with Medicare rely on Medicare Plan Finder to choose the best coverage for their health and financial needs and they should be able to trust that the information provided is accurate and complete. Incorrect or incomplete information on coverage and costs can prove burdensome for people with Medicare and their families. Unfortunately, people with Medicare may not realize they received erroneous information from Medicare Plan Finder until they visit their pharmacy well into 2020,” the senators wrote in their letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
“Without knowledge of the Special Enrollment Period, seniors and people with disabilities may experience unnecessarily high prescription drug costs or skip needed treatments,” the senators also noted. “To benefit from the Special Enrollment Period, older adults, people with disabilities and their caregivers must be made aware that there is reprieve from errors caused by the faulty tool.”
Medicare beneficiaries who believe they enrolled in a plan based on inaccurate information from the Medicare Plan Finder tool should contact 1-800-MEDICARE.
Other senators that signed on to the letter include: Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Angus King (I-ME) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).
The text of the letter is available here.
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