September 24, 2009

CMS Acts to Stop Misleading Medicare Private Plan Communications about Health Care Reform

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a clear message to private Medicare Advantage, prescription drug, and cost plans not to send misleading and confusing communications to their plan enrollees about the potential effects of health care reform currently being considered by Congress.  The action was in direct response to a mailing by Humana, one of the largest private insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans under Medicare, to their plan enrollees.

The envelope of the Humana mailing warned that the letter contained important information about Medicare benefits. The letter itself said that Congress was considering cuts to Medicare in its health care reform legislation, that these cuts would result in reduced benefits for Humana plan enrollees, and that enrollees should contact their members of Congress to protest the cuts.

In response, CMS sent a letter to Humana on Monday, September 21, telling the company to stop sending misleading and confusing communications, and that it believed such communications are potentially contrary to federal regulations and guidance. CMS further advised that the agency takes this matter very seriously and could pursue compliance and enforcement actions. CMS also sent a comparable memo to all private insurance companies (see http://cmatest.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/hpms-misleading-mailing-9-2009.pdf) telling them not to send similar communications. 

Advocates whose clients receive similar mailings from Humana, or other Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plans, should contact their CMS regional office.

For more information, contact attorney Vicki Gottlich (vgottlich @ medicareadvocacy.org) in the Center for Medicare Advocacy's Washington, DC office at (202) 293-5760.

Copyright © 2010 Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.