Wayne Allard: “Currently American seniors enjoy Medicare health plans called cost contracts. Under legislation I am introducing today…”

“Currently American seniors enjoy Medicare health plans called cost contracts. Under legislation I am introducing today, seniors will be able to continue utilizing these valued health plans. Medicare cost contract plans are vital to America. Cost contracts provide Medicare beneficiaries in many rural areas and small cities throughout our country with an affordable, high-quality option to the traditional Medicare fee-for-service plan. For many of these beneficiaries, Medicare Advantage plans do not provide access to physicians in the community. Medicare cost contracts are managed care plans that are reimbursed on a cost basis for providing health services. Under current law, cost contracts are one option for Medicare beneficiaries. Cost contract premiums cover Medicare deductibles and additional benefits not covered by basic Medicare. Further, for the costs of a normal Medicare fee-for-service copayment, seniors with cost contracts can use any Medicare provider regardless of whether they participate in the health plans network. This is critical in rural areas where physicians are scarce. Cost contracts are vital to seniors who have them. From New York to Oregon, and even to Hawaii, America's seniors are enrolled in cost contract plans. Cost contracts are especially important in rural Colorado. Of the Coloradans with cost contract plans, 89 percent live in rural Colorado, where few physicians will see patients under straight Medicare or Medicare Advantage.”