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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Center for Medicare Advocacy – Matt Shepard: 202-293-5760, mshepard@MedicareAdvocacy.org Congress
Should Seize this Historic Opportunity to Add Dental Coverage to Medicare –
But Vouchers are Not the Answer Joint
Statement by the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Families USA, Justice In
Aging, Medicare Rights Center, National Committee to Preserve Social Security
and Medicare and Public Citizen Washington, DC ─ Congress is poised to
make an historic investment in lowering people’s health care costs, including
by adding needed dental, hearing and vision benefits to the Medicare program.
Without coverage, dental care is very expensive and out of reach for millions
of people in America. The lack of dental care clearly results in adverse
health consequences, and for far too long, oral health care has been
separated from overall health care for older adults and people with
disabilities who rely on Medicare. Our
organizations strongly support a robust and comprehensive dental benefit in
Part B of Medicare, available to all Medicare beneficiaries, and integrated
with the delivery of other health care benefits. We urge Congress to
take this important step toward improving health equity that would extend
coverage to 62 million older adults and people with disabilities including 31
million low-income beneficiaries. Recent
reports suggest that policymakers are now considering a dental voucher
program for Medicare beneficiaries as the sole dental policy in the
reconciliation package. As beneficiary advocacy organizations with
considerable experience with the roll-out of health care coverage policies,
we actively oppose vouchers as they are not a replacement for real coverage.
We have significant concerns that vouchers (including debit cards, flexible
savings accounts, or money to purchase private dental insurance) would not
adequately address the problems they are meant to solve, and we urge Congress
to pursue a different path. Vouchers
instead of coverage for dental care would not effectively target those with
the greatest dental needs, would be administratively complex, and would
direct valuable resources away from getting a more permanent benefit off the
ground. Vouchers would be susceptible to significant fraud and abuse, could
lead to increased prices for care, and could lead to mistrust of the program
by both enrollees and providers. In turn, these factors would minimize any
expected political payoff. There
are better approaches to building up a meaningful dental benefit in Part B
that would achieve the goal of providing immediate access to essential dental
care to those most in need. For example, Congress could expand current
(but limited) medically necessary dental coverage and add emergency dental
coverage (which could be implemented quickly). Congress could also
create a preventive services benefit as a path to a more comprehensive
benefit. We urge Congress to work with stakeholders, including
beneficiary advocates, on steps that advance the larger goal. People
across America have fought back against attempts to turn Medicare into a
voucher system before – to enact a voucher program now would set a bad
precedent in the Medicare program which is built on a foundation of universal
access and coverage. Eight
in 10 voters favor adding dental coverage to Medicare now, and they want
their problem solved, instead of temporary or half-measures. It’s time
for Congress to heed their call. ### The Center for
Medicare Advocacy (www.medicareadvocacy.org) is a
national, non-profit law organization that works to advance access to
comprehensive Medicare coverage, health equity, and quality health care for
older people and people with disabilities. The Center provides legal
assistance, education, analysis, and advocacy with a focus on the concerns of
people with longer-term and chronic conditions. The organization’s systemic
positions and actions are based on the experiences of the real people we hear
from every day. Families USA (familiesusa.org) a leading national,
non-partisan voice for health care consumers, is dedicated to achieving
high-quality, affordable health care and improved health for all. Our work is
driven by and centered around four pillars: value, equity, coverage, and
consumer experience. We view these focus areas — and the various issues
unique to each area — as the cornerstones of America’s health care system. Justice
in Aging
(www.justiceinaging.org) is a national organization that uses the power of law to
fight senior poverty by securing access to affordable health care, economic
security, and the courts for older adults with limited resources. Since 1972,
we’ve focused our efforts primarily on those who have been marginalized and
excluded from justice such as women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and
people with limited English proficiency. The Medicare Rights
Center (www.medicarerights.org) is a
national, nonprofit consumer service organization that works to ensure access
to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities
through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy
initiatives. National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (www.ncpssm.org) The mission of the
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, a membership
organization, is to protect, preserve, promote, and ensure the financial
security, health, and the well being of current and future generations of
maturing Americans. Public Citizen (www.citizen.org) is
a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest
in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work
to ensure that government works for the people – not for big corporations.
Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the
country. Share: |
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Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. • www.MedicareAdvocacy.org
PO Box 350, Willimantic, CT 06226 • 1025 CT Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036
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