WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-02) released the following statement this afternoon after Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner announced the Obama administration will no longer proceed with their plan to fundamentally change Medicare Part D:

"Today, CMS Administrator Tavenner announced that the Obama administration will no longer continue their plans to make catastrophic changes to Medicare Part D. They have heard the calls of millions of seniors who raised the alarm over this deeply misguided rule. While this is welcome news, there remain over 500,000 North Carolina seniors - and millions more nationwide - whose plans are still in jeopardy."

"This announcement is merely that and sets no safeguards to prevent the Obama administration from changing course, as we have seen over and over again with the failed rollout of Obamacare. 14 million American seniors are now living under the threat that their prescription medications, and the competitive elements that make them affordable, could be changed or altered at any time. I will continue to monitor these developments and hold CMS and the Obama administration accountable for this decision so that our seniors can continue to benefit from the affordable options available to them in Medicare Part D."

On Thursday, Congresswoman Renee Ellmers introduced H.R. 4160 - the "Keep the Promise to Seniors Act of 2014." This bill would block the prescription drug provisions in the proposed rule, ensuring seniors can keep the Part D plans they chose and like. The Part D program has maintained stable, affordable average monthly premiums, enjoys a 90 percent approval rating among beneficiaries, and has program costs that are more than 40 percent below original Congressional Budget Office projections. Without this legislation, CMS may not have issued a letter to withdraw these proposed changes.

Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) changed course on a proposed rule regarding the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D programs. The new proposed regulations, announced on January 6, 2014, would have altered the current structure of the program and thus jeopardize its success and quality. If finalized, the proposed policies would impact virtually all Part D stakeholders— beneficiaries, providers, pharmacies, plans, states, manufacturers and others—and would undermine cornerstones to the program’s success.

CMS’ proposed rule would have fundamentally redefined the “non-interference clause” at the heart of the Medicare Modernization Act, which has driven the establishment of innovative cost-cutting plan designs. This proposal would put bureaucrats in between Part D negotiations and prioritizes agency power over seniors’ choices.

The rule also placed arbitrary limits on the number of plans available to seniors by limiting plan offerings to two per region. These proposals, combined with the other questionable changes contained in the 700-page rule, would have dramatically reduced choice and increased costs for seniors. Seniors who like their prescription drug plans stood to lose them as an estimated 214 plans would have been eliminated or consolidated by the proposed rule.

To date, over 350 organizations have come out against the proposed rule.