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Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined 64 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma in support of Medicare Advantage and the high-quality care it provides to more than 21 million seniors and individuals with disabilities, including nearly 1.8 million Floridians in 2018 alone.
 
“Nearly two million Floridians rely on Medicare Advantage, including over 40 percent of the state’s Medicare enrollees, and I am committed to ensuring those plans continue to provide comprehensive care at affordable rates,” said Rubio. “For plan year 2020, I urged the Administration to implement policies that continue to strengthen the program and increase choice for Floridians who depend on Medicare Advantage for quality, patient-centered health care.”
 
The full text of the letter is below.
 
Dear Administrator Verma:
 
We write to express our strong support for Medicare Advantage and the high-quality care it provides to more than 21 million seniors and individuals with disabilities.  We appreciate the Administration’s recognition of the value of Medicare Advantage and its work to encourage innovation for these private health plans.  As annual updates are considered for 2020, we ask you to continue to strengthen and grow this proven part of the Medicare program by proposing policies that provide stability and predictability.
 
Millions of our constituents depend on Medicare Advantage for quality, patient-centered health care.  Beneficiary enthusiasm for the program remains strong, with more than one in three seniors enrolled.   This is due, in part, to private plans’ ability to leverage best practices in care delivery, use robust data analytics, and implement proven value-based care and care management models.  Medicare Advantage enrollees report a 91 percent satisfaction rate, with 74 percent of enrollees in plans rated four Stars and above. 
 
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently announced average Medicare Advantage premiums are estimated to decrease by six percent in 2019.  Meanwhile, beneficiary enrollment has increased by eight percent in the past year and 79 percent since 2010, a testament to the affordability, high-quality care coordination, disease management and community-based programs, and supplemental benefits such as vision and dental coverage provided by Medicare Advantage plans.  Further, bipartisan efforts are helping to reduce beneficiary costs by increasing the use of telemedicine, promoting value-based insurance design, and expanding benefits that address social determinants of health by including transportation, nutrition, and other non-medical needs that enhance quality of life. 
 
For plan year 2020, we encourage the Administration to implement policies that promote innovation, provide predictable funding to support long-term, value-based arrangements, and ensure that any substantive changes include sufficient time for thorough evaluation and stakeholder engagement.
 
Sincerely,