Ask The Appeal Experts
A pair of U.S. senators sent a letter to CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, seeking answers for what they described as a “rushed launch” of the Medicare Advantage provider-directory tool.
Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in the Nov. 4 letter that they are deeply concerned about reports that the provider-directory tool is “riddled with erroneous, conflicting and duplicative information.”
“While we appreciate CMS’s stated intent to help enrollees more easily navigate and choose a Medicare Advantage, we are concerned that this rushed rollout will mislead millions of seniors as they compare plans, and may cause seniors and people with disabilities to incur medical bills they reasonably believed would be covered.”
They also expressed concern that the rollout was not led by CMS staff, but rather by the acting administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency currently embedded at the agency, who is also leading the White House’s broader national directory initiative.
The letter comes after The Washington Post discovered inconsistencies with the Medicare Plan Finder following the start of Medicare open enrollment on Oct. 15. After the Post reported the issues to CMS, an official confirmed the agency was working to resolve the problems.
The senators are seeking answers from Dr. Oz by Nov. 17. They are asking for CMS’ timeline to correct known errors in the directory and whether the agency will publicly indicate when those updates are complete. They also want to know if CMS plans to address potential harm to Medicare Advantage enrollees who incur out-of-pocket costs for care they believed was in-network.
Read the full letter here.
This article was originally published on Becker’s.