David Berman: Medicare Advantage is working. Don’t undermine it.

I’ve spent approximately 50 years helping Indiana employers and families navigate their health care benefits. Health care coverage options have changed a great deal during that time. Over those many decades, however, one program continues to stand out and grow more popular with American seniors: Medicare Advantage. Unfortunately, Medicare Advantage is now under threat from a misguided bill in Congress. Now is the time to strengthen, not undermine, America’s most successful public-private partnership.

Today, more than half of all Medicare-eligible seniors—more than 34 million people—rely on Medicare Advantage. Seniors in Indiana have embraced these plans because they work. On average, Medicare Advantage enrollees spend about $3,500 less annually on out-of-pocket costs than those in traditional Medicare. I’ve witnessed firsthand how important such savings can be for retirees’ fixed incomes. It’s hard enough trying to stretch a fixed income to cover groceries and skyrocketing utility bills without the burden of higher health care costs on top of it.

If there’s anything even more important than affordability when it comes to health care coverage, it’s health results. Here again, Medicare Advantage comes out on top, producing better outcomes for enrollees across a variety of metrics. For instance, seniors with Medicare Advantage are less likely to be hospitalized unnecessarily, more likely to get preventive care and more satisfied with their coverage overall. Plans also offer benefits like dental, vision and hearing that traditional Medicare doesn’t cover.

That’s why I’m so concerned about the so-called No UPCODE Act (Senate Bill 1105) being considered in Washington. The bill would bar plans from using data gathered through chart reviews and health risk assessments—two of the most reliable tools for identifying chronic illness and coordinating care. Removing these from the risk-adjustment formula would make it harder to detect disease early and ensure seniors with complex conditions get the right care.

And, by meddling with the risk-adjustment process, this legislation would likely result in inadequate government reimbursements to Medicare Advantage plans. This would, in turn, likely lead to higher costs and fewer benefit options for Medicare Advantage enrollees. In other words, it would undermine the very reasons seniors choose Medicare Advantage in the first place.

I’ve watched this program evolve from the beginning. It began as an experiment in applying free-market principles to Medicare. Now, 28 years later, Medicare Advantage has proven to be a huge success. Not only has it overtaken traditional Medicare in popularity, but it also offers taxpayers savings, with costs 15% lower than the same original Medicare benefits.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, has long been a thoughtful leader on health care issues and an advocate for patient choice. I hope he and his colleagues will strongly oppose this misguided and counterproductive legislation. Undercutting Medicare Advantage won’t hurt just insurance companies—it will hurt Hoosiers who depend on these plans to stay healthy and independent.

Medicare Advantage is working for 34 million Americans; let’s not break it.•

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Berman is an Indiana health-care-benefits professional and past president and current board member of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals Indiana.