Policy Reports & Testimony

Private Health Plan Reform | Private Plan Marketing Abuses | Two-Year Waiting Period | People with Low Incomes and Part D |
Part D Coverage Issues | Consumer Protections Under Part D | Testimony and Statements

Reports

Private Health Plan Reform

• Informed Choice: The Case for Standardizing and Simplifying Medicare Private Health Plans, September 2007 (PDF)
• Medicare Private Health Plans vs. Medicare Savings Programs: Which Is the Better Way to Help People with Low Incomes Afford Health Care?, September 2007 (PDF)
• Too Good to Be True: The Fine Print in Medicare Private Health Plan Benefits, April 2007 (PDF)
• Medicare: A National Treasure for Forty Years, July 2005 (PDF)

Private Plan Marketing Abuses

• The Reluctant Regulator: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Response to Marketing Misconduct by Medicare Advantage Plans, July 2007 (PDF)
• After the Goldrush: The Marketing of Medicare Advantage and Part D Plans, January 2007 (PDF)

Two-Year Waiting Period

• Too Sick to Work, Too Soon for Medicare: The Human Cost of the Two-Year Medicare Waiting Period for Americans with Disabilities, April 2007 (PDF)
• Letter to U.S. Senate Finance Committee (PDF)

People with Low Incomes and Part D

• Expanding Eligibility for Medicare Savings Programs: The Case for New York State, December 2007 (PDF)
• Part D 2007: Addressing Access Problems for Low Income People with Medicare, November 2006 (PDF)
  (Corrected Version, 12/7/06)
• Protecting the Poorest Americans During the Medicare Drug Transition, September 2005 (PDF)
• Improving the Part D Low-Income Subsidy: Comments and Recommendations to Social Security, May 2005 (PDF)
• MMA and Dual Eligibles: A Transition in Crisis, March 2005
• The Medicare Low Income Drug Subsidy: Strategies to Maximize Participation, January 2005
• An Investigative Report on Medicare Savings Programs in New York City: Local and State Involvement in Federal Programs Impedes Access for People with Low Incomes, December 2001

Part D Coverage Issues

• Off-Base: The Exclusion of Off-label Prescriptions from Medicare Part D Coverage, August 2007 (PDF)
• Norvir: Gouging Medicare on AIDS Drugs, January 2007 (PDF)
• Clearing Hurdles and Hitting Walls: Restrictions Undermine Part D Coverage of Mental Health Drugs, September 2006 (PDF)
• Making Medication Therapy Management a Cornerstone of Community-Based Care for People with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Forms of Dementia, September 2006 (PDF)
• Medicare Part D Appeals System Breaks Down, March 2006 (PDF)
• Medicare Drug Plans Should Lift Restrictions on Mental Health Drugs, February 2006 (PDF)
• Undermining Stability: The Plight of Mentally Ill Americans Under the 2006 Medicare Drug Benefit, August 2005 (PDF)
• Critical Coverage: The Exclusion of Benzodiazepines under Medicare Part D, May 2005 (PDF)

Consumer Protections Under Part D

• The Best Medicine: A Drug Coverage Option Under Original Medicare, October 2007 (PDF)
• Getting The Runaround: Problems with Obtaining Accurate Information from Part D Plans, October 2006 (PDF)
• Elimination of HMO Lock-In: A Vital Consumer Protection, June 2006 (PDF)
• People Must Be Allowed to Change Their Drug Plan, May 2006 (PDF)
• The Part D Enrollment Deadline Can and Should be Lifted, April 2006 (PDF)
• Comments on CMS Draft 2007 Transition and Formulary Requirements March 6, 2006
• The Knowledge Gap: Drug Plans Fail to Provide Critical Information to People with Medicare, February 2006 (PDF)
• Consumers Face Inadequate Protections Concerning Medicare Part D Enrollment and/or Disenrollment Problems, November 2005 (PDF)
• News from the Trenches: Consumers Speak out on Medicare Needs, May 2005
• Medicare Transitions: Simple Steps for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to Bolster Consumer Information and Counseling, February 2005

Testimony and Statements

• July 24, 2008 Testimony of Paul Precht before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: "Medicare Part D Drug Benefit"
• July 17, 2008 Comments on Proposed Rules Concerning Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Benefit Programs
• June 11, 2008 Letter to Cosponsors of Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008
• May 22, 2008 Letter from Senate Cancer Coalition to Senate Finance Committee on Off-Label Prescribing
• April 7, 2008 Letter to Congressional Leadership on Medicare Advantage
• October 16, 2007 Testimony of Paul Precht before the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittees on Health and Oversight: “Statutorily Required Audits of Medicare Advantage Plan Bids”
• September 11, 2007 Testimony of Pia Allocca before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners
• June 21, 2007 Testimony of Paul Precht before the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health: "Beneficiary Protections in Medicare Part D"
• May 15, 2007 Testimony of Monica Sanchez before the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health: "Medicare Savings Plans and Low Income Subsidy: Keeping Medicare's Promise for Seniors and People with Disabilities"
• May 3, 2007 Statement for the Record, Robert M. Hayes, Esq. for the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health: Medicare Programs for Low-Income Beneficiaries
• May 2, 2007 Statement for the Record, Robert M. Hayes, Esq. for the Senate Finance Committee: The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: Monitoring Early Experiences
• April 23, 2007 Response of Robert M. Hayes to the Medicare Trustees Report
• July 18, 2006 Testimony of Robert M. Hayes, Esq. before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, "Another Year Another Billion Hours: Evaluating Paperwork Reduction Efforts in the Federal Government."
• July 17, 2006 Testimony of Robert M. Hayes, Esq. before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee: An Oversight Hearing on Providing Relief to People with Medicare Who Have Fallen into the Prescription Drug 'Doughnut Hole'
• June 14, 2006 Statement for the Record, Robert M. Hayes, Esq. for the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means: Implementation of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit
• May 3, 2006 Testimony of Robert M. Hayes, Esq. for the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health: Implementation of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit
• February 27, 2006 Statement for the Record, Robert M. Hayes, Esq.for the Democratic Policy Committee
• March 3, 2005 Statement for the Record, Robert M. Hayes, Esq. for the Senate's Special Committee on Aging on Implementation of the Medicare Modernization Act: Delivering Prescription Drugs to Dual Eligibles

MRC Testimony 1996-2005 & Policy Reports 1996-2004

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