Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader Reid:

 

The organizations listed below are writing to urge you to reject any extension of Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) for group health plans for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) if such a proposal is made in debt reduction negotiations. Extending MSP does not improve the health care system or result in savings to it. Rather it shifts costs from the federal government to the private sector at rates that are roughly 300% greater than Medicare rates. Essentially, a $4 billion Medicare savings could increase costs in the private sector by $10.8 billion, based on estimates made of the higher amounts that private health plans must pay for these services. We strongly urge you to reject any MSP extension for group health coverage.

 

Extending the MSP for ESRD will result in higher health insurance premiums, higher costsharing and more restrictive coverage for employees, retirees, organized labor, state and local governments and employers. At a time when private and public sector employers are struggling to offer health insurance coverage and families are finding it increasingly difficult to afford health insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles, this policy is ill-advised.

 

The rationale for the existing MSP rules has not changed; allocation of responsibility for covering individuals with this unique disease should not be changed.

 

As you seek solutions to reduce the federal deficit we urge Congress to view health proposals through the lens of whether the proposal has the potential to constrain costs for everyone. We urge all Members to support policies that have the potential to achieve savings in all sectors and improve health care quality.

 

Group health plan sponsors thank you for opposing any shift of Medicare coverage to their employees, members and families.

 

CC: The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

The Honorable Mitch McConnell

House Leadership

Senate Leadership

Respectfully submitted,

Aetna

American Benefits Council

Business Roundtable

Corporate Healthcare Coalition

Deere & Company

Dow Chemical Company

Employers Coalition on Medicare

FirstGroup America, Inc.

H.R. Policy Association

National Association of Health Underwriters

National Business Group on Health

National Coalition on Benefits

Principal Financial Group

Retail Industry Leaders Association

The ERISA Industry Committee

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Xerox