{"id":2322952,"date":"2024-08-12T08:03:57","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T12:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/medicare-agency-just-gave-kamala-an-in-kind-contribution\/"},"modified":"2024-08-12T08:12:20","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T12:12:20","slug":"medicare-agency-just-gave-kamala-an-in-kind-contribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/medicare-agency-just-gave-kamala-an-in-kind-contribution\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicare Agency Just Gave Kamala An In-Kind Contribution"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmedicare-agency-just-gave-kamala-an-in-kind-contribution%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2322952&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Earlier\u200d this month, Kamala\u200c Harris&#8217; campaign reported raising over $200 million during her first week as a\u200b candidate following Joe Biden&#8217;s exit from the presidential\u2062 race. Additionally,\u200c the federal Centers for Medicare \u2063and\u200d Medicaid \u2062Services (CMS) announced\u2062 a \u200cnew initiative aimed at stabilizing premiums for seniors&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-backed-incumbent-loses-primary-to-ultra-progressive-newcomer\/\" title=\"Biden-Backed Incumbent Loses Primary To Ultra-Progressive Newcomer\">prescription drug coverage<\/a>, in part to mitigate potential political fallout as the\u2062 election approaches. <\/p>\n<p>This announcement is seen as part of a\u2062 broader trend where Democrats have provided financial \u2064support to health insurers to \u2062avoid political \u2063backlash. The new &#8220;premium\u2062 stabilization demonstration&#8221; is a \u2063response to changes in Medicare&#8217;s prescription drug benefits implemented through the 2022\u2062 Inflation Reduction\u2063 Act, which had led to\u2062 significant increases in insurance costs. CMS \u200backnowledged the potential for \u2064enrollment disruptions due to these changes and proposed subsidies to \u200cinsurers to prevent\u2062 high premiums and disruptions before the\u2062 upcoming \u2063election.<\/p>\n<p>This approach mirrors tactics used during the Obama administration,\u2063 which also involved financial bailouts to insurers in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-stepdaughter-working-to-funnel-millions-of-dollars-to-gaza-abhorrent\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris&#039; stepdaughter aiding Gaza with millions: &#039;Unacceptable&#039;\">politically sensitive situations<\/a>. In 2010, the CMS increased payments to Medicare Advantage plans shortly after the Affordable \u2062Care \u200bAct\u200b was \u200cpassed, \u2063a move that faced legal scrutiny. The Obama administration later took similar actions \u200din\u200b 2013 in response \u200bto backlash over policy cancellations \u2064resulting from healthcare reforms. the current initiatives reflect a calculated effort to maintain political stability by shielding seniors from unexpected healthcare \u200dcosts as elections draw near.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Earlier this month, Kamala Harris&rsquo; campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/08\/02\/politics\/harris-fundraising-july\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> it raised more than $200 million in the first week of her candidacy, following Joe Biden&rsquo;s withdrawal from the presidential campaign. A far larger, albeit unofficial, in-kind contribution came via the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/newsroom\/fact-sheets\/cms-releases-2025-medicare-part-d-bid-information-and-announces-premium-stabilization-demonstration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> a new &ldquo;premium stabilization demonstration&rdquo; intended to minimize premium increases for seniors&rsquo; prescription drug coverage during the campaign&rsquo;s final stretch. <\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s the continuation of a pattern: the third use by Democrats in recent years of health insurer giveaways &mdash; bailouts of questionable legality &mdash; to protect them from political headaches.<\/p>\n<h2>Current Bailout<\/h2>\n<p>The CMS announcement came due to changes in the prescription drug benefit that Democrats passed in 2022&rsquo;s so-called Inflation Reduction Act. The combination of richer benefits &mdash; including a decrease in seniors&rsquo; maximum out-of-pocket drug spend &mdash; and structural changes to the benefit design meant that the average monthly bid amount for standalone Part D plans nearly tripled compared to last year.<\/p>\n<p>While not all of that increase would get passed through to seniors&rsquo; premiums, CMS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/newsroom\/fact-sheets\/cms-releases-2025-medicare-part-d-bid-information-and-announces-premium-stabilization-demonstration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conceded<\/a> &ldquo;more variation&rdquo; in plan bids, with &ldquo;resulting premium changes [that] could create disruptive enrollment shifts.&rdquo; As a result, CMS announced a demonstration project under which Washington will assume greater responsibility for plans&rsquo; cost overruns and provide outright subsidies to insurers.<\/p>\n<p>CMS claims the &ldquo;additional premium stability&rdquo; provided by these bailouts could &ldquo;improve the predictability of [plan] offerings.&rdquo; With open enrollment for 2025 starting on Oct. 15 &mdash; weeks before the November election &mdash; the goal seems clear: avoid shocking seniors with high premiums and\/or plan cancellations as they head to the polls.<\/p>\n<h2>Borrowing the Obama Bailout Playbook<\/h2>\n<p>In throwing taxpayer dollars at insurers to prevent politically unpopular dislocation, Biden&rsquo;s CMS follows a pattern pioneered by none other than Barack Obama. In November 2010, mere months after Obamacare&rsquo;s passage, CMS announced a nationwide demonstration project increasing payments to Medicare Advantage plans. The Government Accountability Office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-12-409r.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> that the $8.4 billion demonstration &ldquo;dwarf[ed] all other Medicare demonstrations &hellip; in its estimated budgetary impact.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Given <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/b-323170.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">questions<\/a> about &ldquo;the agency&rsquo;s legal authority to undertake the demonstration,&rdquo; GAO recommended that CMS cancel the Medicare Advantage giveaway &mdash; a recommendation the administration saw fit to ignore. With Democrats having <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/democrats-use-medicare-as-a-piggy-bank-11616624520\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">raided Medicare<\/a>, and specifically Medicare Advantage, to fund Obamacare, officials dreaded the prospect of seniors losing coverage or benefits before the 2012 election. If shoveling taxpayer money at insurers in a legally questionable manner could buy peace, so be it.<\/p>\n<p>The Obama administration returned to this playbook in late 2013, when the combination of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/policy-notifications-current-status-state-204701399.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">millions of plan cancellation notices<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/191165-officials-worried-about-healthcaregov-meltdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nonfunctioning<\/a> healthcare.gov created another political headache. After the president&rsquo;s public apology for what Politifact dubbed the &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/article\/2013\/dec\/12\/lie-year-if-you-like-your-health-care-plan-keep-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lie of the Year<\/a>&rdquo; &mdash; &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qpa-5JdCnmo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">If you like your plan, you can keep it<\/a>&rdquo; &mdash; CMS announced it would allow states to keep noncompliant plans not meeting all of Obamacare&rsquo;s new regulations.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to <a href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2721391\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">violating<\/a> the president&rsquo;s constitutional duties &mdash; an administration pledging not to enforce federal law for political reasons &mdash; the decision also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/10\/us\/politics\/marco-rubio-obamacare-affordable-care-act.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">put insurers at risk<\/a>. They had priced their Exchange products assuming that people with pre-Obamacare plans would be forced to buy new, richer coverage, and now those healthy individuals could avoid buying the more expensive plans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In 2013, just as in 2010, the administration responded by going to the bailout well yet again. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/CCIIO\/Resources\/Letters\/Downloads\/commissioner-letter-11-14-2013.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announcing<\/a> the option for states to permit noncompliant plans, CMS said that &ldquo;we intend to explore ways to modify the risk corridor program&rdquo; in ways that would &ldquo;help ameliorate unanticipated changes in premium revenue.&rdquo; Thankfully, Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/10\/us\/politics\/marco-rubio-obamacare-affordable-care-act.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">took action to prevent<\/a> this particular bailout &mdash; but the pattern of using taxpayer dollars to make up for politically unpopular choices remains.<\/p>\n<h2>Democrats Love Throwing Money at Problems<\/h2>\n<p>Notice too how the left-wing supporters of socialized medicine quiet their mouths when elected Democrats decide to turn on the taxpayer spigots for insurance companies. Have people like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., raised even a peep to one of these bailouts? Of course not. To them, winning elections matters far more than such trivialities as being consistent with one&rsquo;s principles.<\/p>\n<p>To be fair, the Trump administration mooted <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/04\/12\/trump-administration-plans-bail-insurers-hide-higher-drug-costs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Medicare giveaways<\/a> during his time in office, but a combination of logistical obstacles and objections from conservatives, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/09\/29\/no-trump-shouldnt-hand-out-200-prescription-cards-like-obama-would\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">including this one<\/a>, prevented them from taking effect. So when Harris tries to tout drug pricing efforts between now and Nov. 5, conservatives should ask why Democrats always rely on bailouts to paper over the flaws in their government-run schemes. <\/p>\n<p>After all, if the Inflation Reduction Act did such a good job of controlling drug prices, why is CMS using authority it arguably doesn&rsquo;t have, and money taxpayers can&rsquo;t afford, giving away billions to insurers?<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/game-show-judges-assess-players-on-their-unknown-knowledge\/\" title=\"Game Show Judges Assess Players on Their Unknown Knowledge\">policy consulting firm based<\/a> in Washington, and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He appeared in the 1995 &#8220;Jeopardy!&#8221; Teen Tournament and is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this month, Kamala Harris&#8217; campaign revealed that it raised over $200 million in the first week of her candidacy after Joe Biden exited the presidential race. A significantly larger, though unofficial, contribution came from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which introduced a new &#8220;premium stabilization demonstration&#8221; aimed at reducing premium hikes for seniors&#8217; prescription drug coverage as the campaign nears its conclusion. This move continues a trend where Democrats have utilized health insurer bailouts\u2014of questionable legality\u2014to shield themselves from political fallout.<\/p>\n<p>The CMS announcement was prompted by modifications to the prescription drug benefit enacted through last year&#8217;s Inflation Reduction Act. These changes included enhanced benefits and a reduction in seniors\u2019 maximum out-of-pocket expenses for medications, resulting in nearly tripling of average monthly bids for standalone Part D plans compared to the previous year. Although not all of this increase would be passed on to seniors as premiums, CMS acknowledged that there would be &#8220;more variation&#8221; in plan bids leading to potential disruptive enrollment shifts. Consequently, CMS initiated a project where it would take on more responsibility for cost overruns and provide direct subsidies to insurers.<\/p>\n<p>CMS asserts that these bailouts will offer &#8220;additional premium stability,&#8221; potentially making plan offerings more predictable. With open enrollment for 2025 starting on October 15\u2014just weeks before the November election\u2014the objective appears clear: prevent seniors from facing unexpected high premiums or plan cancellations as they head to vote.<\/p>\n<p>This strategy mirrors tactics used during Barack Obama&#8217;s administration when taxpayer funds were directed toward insurers to avert politically damaging disruptions. In late 2010, shortly after Obamacare&#8217;s implementation, CMS launched a nationwide project increasing payments to Medicare Advantage plans\u2014a move criticized by the Government Accountability Office due to concerns about its legality.<\/p>\n<p>Despite recommendations from GAO urging cancellation of this giveaway due to legal uncertainties, the Obama administration proceeded with it out of fear that seniors might lose coverage before the 2012 elections if they did not intervene financially with insurers.<\/p>\n<p>In late 2013, amid widespread plan cancellations and issues with healthcare.gov following Obama&#8217;s controversial promise that individuals could keep their existing plans under Obamacare\u2014a claim Politifact labeled \u201cLie of the Year\u201d\u2014CMS allowed states to maintain noncompliant plans not adhering fully to new regulations. This decision risked undermining insurance pricing strategies based on assumptions about consumer behavior post-Obamacare implementation.<\/p>\n<p>Once again responding with financial support measures similar to those used previously in both 2010 and 2013 when faced with political challenges related directly or indirectly tied back into their healthcare policies; however Congress intervened then preventing further bailouts but leaving intact an ongoing pattern among Democrats who often resorted back towards using taxpayer money whenever faced against unpopular decisions made within government-run programs like these ones mentioned above here today still being discussed now too!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also worth noting how leftist advocates for socialized medicine tend not raise objections when Democratic leaders opt instead choose funneling taxpayer dollars towards insurance companies during such times either! Figures like Senator Bernie Sanders or Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have remained silent regarding these recent bailouts because winning elections takes precedence over maintaining consistency regarding principles held dear by them otherwise!<\/p>\n<p>While it&#8217;s true former President Trump considered similar Medicare giveaways during his tenure; logistical hurdles combined alongside conservative pushback ultimately thwarted those efforts altogether! Therefore whenever Harris promotes drug pricing initiatives leading up until November fifth; conservatives should question why Democrats consistently depend upon bailout strategies rather than addressing inherent flaws present within their government-run systems instead?<\/p>\n<p>After all if indeed Inflation Reduction Act effectively controlled rising costs associated around pharmaceuticals then why is CMS utilizing authority arguably beyond its scope while simultaneously distributing billions away freely towards insurers? <\/p>\n<p>Chris Jacobs is founder\/CEO at Juniper Research Group\u2014a policy consulting firm located within Washington\u2014and author behind book titled \u201cThe Case Against Single Payer.\u201d He participated previously appearing during Jeopardy!\u2019s Teen Tournament back year nineteen ninety-five &amp; can be found tweeting @chrisjacobsHC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2322953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Kamala-Harris-Healthcare-Rally.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[36356,37871,32438,4159,37870],"class_list":["post-2322952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-government-agencies","tag-in-kind-support","tag-kamala-harris","tag-medicare","tag-political-contributions"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Kamala-Harris-Healthcare-Rally.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2322952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2322953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2322952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2322952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2322952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}