WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-02) released the following statement this afternoon after sending a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Tavenner regarding plans to make massive cuts to Medicare Advantage:

"Every day we find more evidence of how Obamacare is hurting patients, doctors, our economy and jobs. That's why this morning, I sent a letter to the Obama administration calling for the immediate reversal of their plans to make painful cuts to Medicare Advantage to pay for Obamacare. Nearly half-a-million seniors in North Carolina rely on this important resource for their medical coverage. CMS' proposal to cut Medicare Advantage by 5.9 percent will affect millions of seniors and leave many of them with a painful and uncertain future."

"I am a proud supporter of Medicare Advantage - a program that improves the health of American seniors. But because of CMS, our seniors will see a dramatic change to the program's funding this year on top of the $200 billion that is scheduled to be removed over the next ten years to pay for Obamacare. As a result, seniors will face higher out-of-pocket costs and limited access to providers. I will continue this fight on behalf of our seniors and call on CMS to immediately stop these harmful cuts."

Click here or open the attachment to view Congresswoman Ellmers' letter to CMS Administrator Tavenner.

In North Carolina, over 460,000 seniors are enrolled in Medicare Advantage and could potentially lose their health insurance plan because of the proposed 2015 CMS Medicare Advantage cuts. These proposed cuts by CMS are in addition to those in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which remove an additional $200 billion from Medicare Advantage. Nationwide, 15 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage.

According to a recent report by Oliver Wyman, the 2015 cuts could lead to benefit reductions and premium increases of $35 to $75 per member per month, including plan exits from local markets. This means that many beneficiaries could lose access to Medicare Advantage plans. The 2015 cuts would also have a disproportionate effect on beneficiaries with low incomes, including the 41 percent of Medicare Advantage enrollees with annual incomes below $20,000.