Pete Ricketts

Around 80 percent of Palestinians view the PA as being corrupt.

We cannot have a hearing on corruption if we are not going to talk about the Palestinian Authority.

Corruption within the Palestinian Authority is widespread, including nepotism, blackmail, embezzlement.

Countries ought to be careful and clear eyed about entering in these arrangements with China.

Countries ought to be careful and clear eyed about entering in these arrangements with China.

Countries ought to be careful and clear eyed about entering in these arrangements with China.

Actually, Senator Menendez, I am actually going to follow up with Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink on that as well with regard to the--if you could go into more details.

We appreciate that Senator Ricketts has cosponsored this important legislation.

The whole point of Medicare Advantage plans was to be proactive and preventative, right, and you said that in your opening remarks.

Would you say then your evaluation of this, your assessment is we actually have not met that goal, that we are not being as preventative and we are not actually saving costs in this program?

That all requires preauthorization, so there could be delays with regard to that?

A thousand dollars a day.

If you have seen one MA plan, you have seen one.

That would have to be done at the Federal level, and CMS would have that.

Is that written in the rules, though, that two-week timeframe?

Is that with traditional Medicare? Is that less of a problem?

How could you even anticipate that?

Would you say that the complexity of the system is disadvantaging people on lower incomes?

I know that there are even people you can hire to help you, right.

I do think that we need to have more official information coming from CMS.

I think there is a common thing in marketing that you have to get a message out seven times before people start remembering it.

Would it have been helpful to start having that dialog earlier?

Do you think that is what most people think?

Yes. Well, the good news is you have got five years to research it. It may take that much time.

It is, again, confusing, especially as you just said, you can do the Medicare Advantage online but then if you are doing the Medicare supplement you have to call to talk to somebody.