HHS Investigates Medicare Providers’ Massive Misinformation Campaign

Today, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department took its first steps toward cracking down on misinformation disseminated by Medicare providers.

During the recent health care reform hullabaloo, “Keep Government Out of Medicare” became a rallying call for some and a joke for others. As it became clear that tens of thousands of senior citizens across the country held irrational beliefs about the government’s role in their health care, we asked, where is all the misinformation coming from? The answer: Medicare Advantage providers have been deliberately misinforming Medicare recipients about health insurance reform.

Last week, I reported that Las Vegas members of Humana Medicare plans had received a mass mailing from Humana (see the complete mailer and envelope) claiming that Congress and the President are considering proposals to cut “important benefits and services” of Medicare. That mailer actually went out to Humana plan members nationwide. Today, the Health and Human Services’s (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to Humana demanding that Humana cease “immediately all such mailings to Medicare plan members and to remove any related materials directed to Medicare enrollees from your website.”

Full Story: Dawn Teo: HHS Investigates Medicare Providers’ Massive Misinformation Campaign.