The Medicare Rights Center looks forward to working with the Biden administration to protect and strengthen Medicare as well as the health and economic well-being of those who rely on its coverage. To facilitate this dialogue, we recently submitted a set of recommended actions for the administration’s consideration.

Our memo is rooted in our experience helping people with Medicare understand and navigate their coverage. Through this work, we know that immediate and long-term policy solutions are needed. We frequently hear from people with Medicare who are struggling with limited financial resources, rising health care and prescription drug costs, antiquated Medicare coverage and enrollment rules, entrenched and systemic racial injustice and discrimination, and burdensome program requirements. In addition to these longstanding barriers, older adults and people with disabilities have been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout.

These challenges, as well as the Biden administration’s role in responding to them and in shaping Medicare’s future, are reflected in our recommendations. Chiefly, we urge the administration to:

• Immediately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in ways that prioritize older adults and people with disabilities;
• Simplify Medicare enrollment to ensure active, informed, and meaningful beneficiary choice;
• Reduce barriers to care by making coverage more available, accessible, and affordable; and
• Address disparities and inequities to improve health care and coverage for all.

While the majority of the solutions we present are administrative, some require more broad collaboration. We encourage President Biden to work with Members of Congress, state policymakers, and stakeholders to advance these and other goals. In the coming weeks, we will also outline our legislative priorities for the 117^thCongress.

Read Medicare Rights’ policy recommendations for the Biden administration.