Senate Republicans appear less likely to try to make changes to Medicare Advantage as part of their massive tax and spending bill, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said Wednesday.
Cramer raised the idea of targeting Medicare Advantage for additional savings last week after a closed-door caucus meeting, saying the program is ideal for reform because it is rife with waste, fraud and abuse.
The House-passed bill would cut more than $800 billion from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, but some GOP lawmakers argue that other mandatory spending programs, such as Medicare, should also be reviewed for “waste” to further reduce the cost of the bill.
But Medicare has long been considered a political third rail, and Cramer on Wednesday said he doesn’t think Republicans want to try to go near it — even though Medicare Advantage changes have bipartisan support.
“I don’t think there’s a stomach for it. I think that the president doesn’t want to touch Medicare,” Cramer said.
When Republicans first floated the idea of Medicare changes last week, Senate Democrats jumped to open a new line of attack.
Politically, it didn’t matter that Republicans were discussing bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) that would save billions of dollars by reducing overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans.
The legislation would crack down on a practice called “upcoding” through which insurers classify patients as sicker so the government will reimburse them at a higher rate.
Cramer noted it’s difficult for members to try to talk about the changes.
“To be honest, I’m the only one I know that talks about it,” Cramer said. “I just don’t know how we get to where we want to get without going after some of the bigger drivers of the debt and deficit.”
Senate Republicans will be briefed by Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the release of legislative text.
