Brown, Portman introduce legislation to improve care for those eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 2, 2022
- Left: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Right: U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio
Proposes new model to integrate services for both programs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced on Thursday the bipartisan Comprehensive Care for Dual Eligible Individuals Act of 2022.
The legislation would support states that offer integrated, coordinated care options for those who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, ensuring they receive the full benefits and quality care they deserve. More than 12 million Americans are dually eligible for both programs.
“Currently, people eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare have to deal with a fragmented, confusing system, and too many can fall through the cracks,” said Brown. “This bipartisan legislation would help integrate care, make government work better, and improve the health of older Americans and people with disabilities.”
Right now, nearly half of all Americans eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid receive long-term care services and more than half of these beneficiaries have multiple chronic conditions, including mental health diagnoses. In order to receive the care and support they need, they have to deal with two sets of administrative rules and policies, which can lead to duplicated or fragmented care and poor health outcomes. The Comprehensive Care for Dual Eligible Individuals Act of 2022 would create a new program that states can choose to take up, to integrate the two programs and allow dual-eligible Americans to select the type of coordinated care that works best for them.
Specifically, the Comprehensive Care for Dual Eligible Individuals Act of 2022 would provide states with the opportunity to establish programs to integrate care for dual eligible individuals, allowing beneficiaries to choose a single program that can provide for their medical, long-term care, social, and behavioral needs.
The legislation is supported by a variety of stakeholder organizations, including the Commonwealth Care Alliance, Community Catalyst, Health Plan of San Mateo, Independent Living Systems, Justice in Aging, L.A. Care Health Plan, Medicare Rights Center, Molina, National Alliance on Mental Illness and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.