WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this week, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02), along with 13 other members, introduced a package of eight bills that apply guardrails to Medicare Advantage (MA) programs while strengthening traditional Medicare. Since then, there has been an outpouring of support for this package.

“Medicare Advantage is a tragic emblem of the problems with American health insurance. Profiteers like UnitedHealthcare pervert the system, shorten our lives, and bankrupt our families. This package of bills from Rep. Pocan is a good start at turning things around and giving real Medicare a fighting chance to protect our seniors. We need to do much more than this, but as a group of physicians from across the country we are enthusiastic supporters of these foundational bills.” – Ed Weisbart, MD, Physicians for a National Health Program, National Board Secretary.

“Big Insurance corporations have been gaming the Medicare program for decades, and labor unions often have no meaningful choice when it comes to securing healthcare benefits for their retired workers. This legislation holds corporations accountable and provides a pathway for unions to enroll their retirees into the publicly run program that has served seniors and people with disabilities for over 60 years. Lawmakers must aggressively pursue passing Congressman Pocan’s bills in order to reclaim Medicare from greedy corporations and protect patients on for-profit Medicare Advantage plans.” – Rose Roach, National Coordinator for the Labor Campaign for Single Payer and former Executive Director of the Minnesota Nurses Association.

“Since its inception, Medicare Advantage has cost too much while burdening enrollees with unnecessary delays and denials of care. By addressing many of the worst aspects of Medicare Advantage, these commonsense reforms would strengthen traditional Medicare, curb Medicare Advantage insurers’ ability to overcharge taxpayers, and crack down on insurer practices that impede access to care.” – Robert Weissman, Public Citizen Co-President.

“Big Insurance has long pitched Medicare Advantage as a key tool to lowering health care costs and delivering better care, but like so much of their rhetoric, this is nothing but bold-faced lies. The truth is, Medicare Advantage is neither Medicare nor an advantage. And it certainly doesn’t exist to lower costs. It exists to help Big Insurance make sky-high profits and enrich shareholders. It is long past time Congress stepped in and protected patients. The legislative package Congressman Pocan is introducing is the most comprehensive plan ever introduced to rein in Medicare Advantage and protect patients. Congress should pass these bills without delay.” – Wendell Potter, President, The Center for Health and Democracy.

“Medicare Advantage insurers profit from withholding medically necessary care, and can withhold care with near impunity. So, people enrolling in corporate MA plans are forced to gamble with their health and with their lives. They can’t avoid the bad actors. It’s time Congress protected older Americans and people with disabilities from bad actor Medicare Advantage insurers, as Congressman Pocan’s MA Bill package would do.” –  Diane Archer, President and Founder, JustCare.

“Corporate-run plans masquerading as Medicare are delaying and denying the care that people need, all while robbing taxpayers of trillions. Congressman Pocan’s package of reforms is desperately needed to hold these corporate plans accountable and strengthen Traditional Medicare. We urge Congress to swiftly pass them into law.” – Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works.

The eight bills are below and can be divided into three subcategories:


Delays and Denials of Care

  1. Denials Don’t Pay Act: Disincentivizes MA companies from delaying and denying lifesaving care through dangerous prior authorization requirements. (one-pager)
  2. Right to Appeal Patient Insurance Denials (RAPID) Act: Ensures that patients receive the necessary care they are entitled to by automatically appealing any denial of care. (one-pager)
  3. Disclose Your Denials Act: Requires MA plans to audibly and visually disclose their delay and denial rates when advertising, increasing transparency in the MA program, and allowing patients to be better informed. (one-pager)

MA Companies Overcharging Taxpayers

  1. Medicare Advantage Fraud Accountability Act: Bars companies from participating in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program if they have been convicted of defrauding the government. (one-pager)
  2. Keep Medicare Costs Down Act: Requires MA companies to charge the government per beneficiary as much as, or less than, traditional Medicare, aiming to reduce unnecessary and wasteful government spending. (one-pager)
  3. Seniors’ Choice and Clarity Act: Streamlines the process and improves clarity and choice for Medicare beneficiaries by limiting the number of plans that Medicare Advantage (MA) companies can offer to three a year, reinstating a 2019 CMS rule. (one-pager)

Strengthening Traditional Medicare

  1. Protecting Medicare Choice Act: Prohibits Medicare Advantage from being redesignated as the default option for seniors, as proposed in Project 2025. (one-pager)
  2. Find My Doctor Act: CMS must create a national, user-friendly website where people can search for doctors by plan, empowering Medicare beneficiaries to make informed decisions by searching whether their doctors participate in a plan before enrolling. (one-pager)

Full Package Cosponsors Include: Andre Carson (IN-07), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Mark Takano (CA-39), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12)

Endorsing Organizations: Center for Health and Democracy, Just Care USA, Labor Campaign for Single Payer, Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), Public Citizen, Social Security Works

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