Press Releases: 2008

STARK DECRIES LACK OF CMS OVERSIGHT, EXCESSIVE COST-SHARING IN PART D PLANS

Rep. Pete Stark today sent the following letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. The letter admonishes CMS for recent OIG reports that expose an astonishing lack of oversight over Part D plans.

Read more: STARK DECRIES LACK OF CMS OVERSIGHT, EXCESSIVE COST-SHARING IN PART D PLANS

STARK CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA, URGES FOCUS ON HEALTH CARE

“I want to extend to Senator Obama my congratulations on his victory, as well as my support in addressing the great challenges that lie ahead.”

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STARK CALLS ON CMS TO CURB GROWING BROKER COMMISSIONS IN MA PLANS

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, today sent the following letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. The letter urges CMS to act to prevent Medicare Advantage plans from gaming new broker fee regulations, that were designed to end the financial incentive for brokers to coerce beneficiaries to switch plans each year. Instead of complying with the intent of the new regulations, some MA plans are charging excessive commissions across the board.

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The Accidental Atheist: From Hippie to Humanist in Half a Century

Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee and currently the chair of its Health Subcommittee, made history on March 12, 2007, when he became the first member of Congress to go on record as a nontheist. Stark was subsequently named the 2008 Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association for his strong support for the separation of church and state and for religious freedom.

Read more: The Accidental Atheist: From Hippie to Humanist in Half a Century