Washington, DC – Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) today delivered opening remarks at the Committee on Ways and Means Hearing on the Health Care Law’s Impact on the Medicare Program and its Beneficiaries.  Below are excerpts, followed by the full remarks.

More Than One-Half Trillion in Cuts to Medicare
“…there are more than one half-trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare that have been made in an effort to finance the law.  Those changes include massive cuts to hospitals, cuts to home health agencies, cuts to skilled nursing facilities, and cuts to hospice providers.  The concern of many on the committee is the impact of this law and the potential to either lose access to health care services or be forced to pay more for the services they need.”

Mixed Messages and Perspectives from CMS
“If I were going to pick a subtitle for this hearing, I might well borrow a line from Charles Dickens:  “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”  Because, to be honest, as I read through the testimony of our two witnesses, and look back through the information we’ve seen from CMS,  I see two very contrasting perspectives appearing from the same agency.”

“On one hand, we have Dr. Berwick who has repeatedly touted the benefits of the health care law…On the other side, you have Mr. Foster and his team in the CMS Office of the Actuary who has a 180-degree perspective on the new health care law.  In report, after report, the Office of the Actuary has provided a bleak outlook about the future of Medicare resulting from the new health care law.”

Oversight of Health Care Spending
“…the spending that runs through your agency is greater than what is spent by the Department of Defense, so not only do we have a constitutional  responsibility to conduct this oversight, we have a clear fiscal responsibility to the American people given the amount of their tax dollars you control.”

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I want to welcome everyone here and also extend a special welcome to our guests, Donald Berwick, Administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Richard Foster, Chief Actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

Dr. Berwick, despite three separate requests from the Republicans on the Committee to our Democrat counterparts in the last Congress, this is the first time you have actually been invited and appeared before this Committee, or any House Committee for that matter.  So, we’ve been especially looking forward to having you here for what I hope will be an informative and spirited discussion about the impact the Democrats’ new health care law will have on Medicare, our seniors and other beneficiaries who depend on the program to meet their health care needs.  I would note that the spending that runs through your agency is greater than what is spent by the Department of Defense, so not only do we have a constitutional  responsibility to conduct this oversight, we have a clear fiscal responsibility to the American people given the amount of their tax dollars you control.

If I were going to pick a subtitle for this hearing, I might well borrow a line from Charles Dickens:  “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”  Because, to be honest, as I read through the testimony of our two witnesses, and look back through the information we’ve seen from CMS,  I see two very contrasting perspectives appearing from the same agency.

On one hand, we have Dr. Berwick who has repeatedly touted the benefits of the health care law.  In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee last November, Dr. Berwick stated that, “Medicare’s long-term sustainability is stronger than ever as a result of new efficiencies, new tools, and resources, to reduce waste and fraud and slow growth in Medicare costs.”

On the other side, you have Mr. Foster and his team in the CMS Office of the Actuary who has a 180-degree perspective on the new health care law.  In report, after report, the Office of the Actuary has provided a bleak outlook about the future of Medicare resulting from the new health care law.  This is due in large part to the fact that there are more than one half-trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare that have been made in an effort to finance the law.  Those changes include massive cuts to hospitals, cuts to home health agencies, cuts to skilled nursing facilities, and cuts to hospice providers.

The concern of many on the committee is the impact of this law and the potential to either lose access to health care services or be forced to pay more for the services they need.  Sadly, that is already happening – from those who depend on local hospitals to folks who depend on Medicare Advantage plans to retirees receiving retiree drug coverage to seniors who will pay higher prices.   

For example,

• The Medicare actuaries predict that because of the cuts in the Democrats’ health care law, 725 hospitals, 2,352 nursing homes, and 1,587 home health agencies will become unprofitable.   It’s no wonder they warn that seniors’ access to care could be jeopardized.
• Three Pennsylvania hospitals have been put up for sale, and the drastic changes in the new health care law were cited as a factor in that decision.
• CBO has predicted that beneficiaries who remain in a Medicare Advantage plan will see their annual out-of-pocket costs increase by an average of $816 by 2019.  
• The Medicare Trustees predict that 5.8 million seniors will lose their current retiree drug plan provided by their former employer because of the Democrats’ health care law, and another 1.7 million seniors who would have otherwise received an offer of retiree prescription drug coverage in the future will no longer have this option.  
• And finally, despite the claims that the Medicare donut hole changes will solve the cost challenges facing seniors, the reality is that  CBO has predicted that Part D premiums will increase by 4 percent this year and 9 percent by 2019 as a result of the Democrats’ health care law.

These are just a few concerns, and I am sure there are more concerns that will be identified today, including the very fuzzy Washington math that has led some to characterize the financing of the law as a “ponzi scheme.”

Given the impact the new health care law will have on Medicare and the nation’s seniors, it is my hope that in today’s hearing we can have an honest and open airing about how CMS plans to institute these cuts while still meeting the long-term needs of our nation’s seniors and Medicare beneficiaries.

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