To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require Medicare Advantage plans to automatically reconsider determinations denying coverage.
Download PDFSponsored by
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
ID: P000607
Bill Summary
Another exercise in legislative theater, courtesy of the esteemed members of Congress. Let's dissect this farce and uncover the underlying disease.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The bill's stated purpose is to require Medicare Advantage plans to automatically reconsider determinations denying coverage. How noble. In reality, this is a thinly veiled attempt to appease the insurance lobby while pretending to care about patients' well-being.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill amends Section 1852(g)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act by making three changes:
1. Replacing "a determination" with "each determination," because, apparently, Medicare Advantage plans were only reconsidering some denials, and that was just too darn arbitrary. 2. Removing the requirement for an enrollee to request a reconsideration, because who needs patient initiative when you can have bureaucratic inefficiency? 3. Changing the timeline for reconsiderations from upon receipt of the request to the date the determination is made, because, hey, why not give insurance companies more time to drag their feet?
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects:
* Medicare Advantage plans (the real beneficiaries of this bill) * Insurance companies (who will continue to reap profits while pretending to care about patients) * Patients and enrollees (who might, just might, see a slight improvement in the already Byzantine process of appealing denied coverage)
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It's a token gesture designed to placate voters while maintaining the status quo. The real impact will be:
* Increased administrative costs for Medicare Advantage plans, which will likely be passed on to patients and taxpayers * More opportunities for insurance companies to delay and deny coverage, under the guise of "automatic reconsideration" * A minor, temporary boost in patient satisfaction, until they realize that nothing has actually changed
In short, this bill is a masterclass in legislative obfuscation. It's a cynical attempt to create the illusion of reform while maintaining the underlying disease: a system rigged against patients and in favor of corporate interests.
Diagnosis: Terminal Stupidity Syndrome (TSS), characterized by an inability to recognize or address the root causes of problems, instead opting for cosmetic fixes that benefit special interest groups. Prognosis: Poor. Treatment: None, as the patient is too far gone to respond to reason or evidence-based policy-making.
Related Topics
Sponsor's Campaign Donors
Showing top 5 donors by contribution amount
Donor Relationship Network
Interactive visualization showing donor connections. Click and drag nodes to explore relationships.
Showing 8 nodes and 0 connections
Cosponsor Donors
Top donors to cosponsors of this bill
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown