*a copy of this letter was also sent to the House of Representatives

September 11, 2018

The Honorable Bill Nelson
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Nelson:

On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I am writing to express our support for S. 3316, the “Helping Seniors Afford Medicare Act of 2018,” which would greatly improve the Medicare program for its nearly 60 million beneficiaries.

Under current law, there is no cap on out-of-pocket expenses for deductibles and copayments for those in traditional Medicare. The National Committee’s Legislative Agenda calls for a cap, to bring traditional Medicare in line with Medicare Advantage and most private health insurance plans. Therefore, we applaud the proposal in your legislation to cap these payments at $5,500 per year. In addition, we support provisions in the “Helping Seniors Afford Medicare Act” that would make it easier for low-income seniors to qualify for financial assistance in paying their out-of-pocket costs, make it easier to enroll in traditional Medicare without a gap in coverage and limit the current lifetime penalty for those who delay signing up for Medicare Part B.

Thank you for your leadership on these important improvements to the Medicare program. We look forward to working with you to secure enactment of the “Helping Seniors Afford Medicare Act,” which would greatly benefit current and future Medicare beneficiaries.

Sincerely,

Max Richtman
President and CEO