Candidate Notes on 99-MGC2

99-MGC2 on Oct 14, 1999

• WHEREAS, Medicare premiums paid to Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) are set at 95% of the current fee-for-service Medicare spending on residents of the county where the HMO is to be offered; and
• WHEREAS, The lack of readily accessible medical care in some areas results in lower utilization of medical services and lower Medicare spending; and
• WHEREAS, The combination of the Medicare HMO premium formula and differences in medical care service utilization results in fewer medical benefits for many Medicare HMO participants in rural, and other low medical care utilization areas; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid will likely be used to fill the coverage gap in these areas, requiring additional state money; and

WHEREAS, Language in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act was designed to address these inequities; now therefore be it,

RESOLVED, That the Midwestern Governors’ Conference encourages Congress to continue its effort to address these inequities, and to resist efforts to reverse the changes made to Medicare HMO premiums in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

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