Better Medicare Alliance
The Better Medicare Alliance (BMA) is an American 501(c)(4) advocacy and research group that supports Medicare Advantage, a private health insurance option available to Medicare beneficiaries.[1] The organization is funded by the insurance companies UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, and Humana,[2] and has been criticized as a front group for the health insurance industry.[3][4][5]
BMA was founded in December 2014 by thirteen coalition partners, including Aetna, Humana, UnitedHealth Group, the American Medical Group Association, the Healthcare Leadership Council, Healthways, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.[6][7] BMA has over 100 organizations listed as allies, including Meals on Wheels America.[2][8]
In early 2015, group strongly opposed the rate decrease proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Medicare Advantage, arguing that access to the program in rural areas had been declining.[5] It was joined by over 300 members of Congress who wrote to CMS to oppose the cuts, which eventually went into effect.[5] In April 2015, former U.S. Representative Allyson Young Schwartz was named president and CEO of the organization.[3] Schwartz was considered a leading health care expert in Congress, and received over $2.1 million in campaign contributions from the healthcare sector during her congressional career.[9][3]
References
- ^ "About". Better Medicare Alliance. Archived from the original on August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ a b Alonso-Zaldivar, Ricardo; Lardner, Richard (December 21, 2018). "Group backing private Medicare is funded by insurance giants". AP News. Associated Press.
- ^ a b c Beck, Tom (April 23, 2015). "Allyson Schwartz to run lobbying group". Philadelphia Business Journal.
- ^ Potter, Wendell (April 27, 2015). "Former Rep. Allyson Schwartz's new group, The Better Medicare Alliance, is not what it appears". Center for Public Integrity.
- ^ a b c King, Robert (April 6, 2015). "Final push to halt Medicare Advantage cuts". Washington Examiner.
- ^ "HealthCare Roundtable e-News". Public Sector Healthcare Roundtable. Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ Tamari, Jonathan (April 21, 2015). "Schwartz to lead new Medicare-focused group". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ "Our Allies". Better Medicare Alliance.
- ^ Herman, Bob (April 21, 2015). "Allyson Schwartz named CEO of Medicare Advantage lobbying group". Modern Healthcare.