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MVP Health Care discontinuing some managed Medicare plans

Buffalo News (NY) - 9/17/2014

Sept. 17--MVP Health Care is discontinuing managed Medicare health insurance plans that serve about 2,100 Western New York seniors, and raising the premiums on its remaining plans, in response to declining federal subsidies for the Medicare Advantage program, the insurer announced.

The Schenectady-based insurer said this week that 19,805 seniors statewide are enrolled in the plans that will be discontinued for 2015. MVP blamed its decision on two years of federal cuts to the Medicare Advantage program, totalling 12 percent, combined with the increasing cost of providing the services to an aging population.

"As laudable as these programs are, and they have many outstanding features, MVP can no longer afford to offer them. And we believe plan members -- seniors living on fixed incomes -- will not be able to afford the premiums we would have to charge for them," Denise V. Gonick, MVP's president and CEO said in a statement.

The insurer held news conferences Tuesday in Rochester and Albany to announce the decision and this morning provided information on Western New York enrollment to The Buffalo News.

Medicare Advantage plans are a type of Medicare health plan offered by health insurers that contract with the federal government to provide hospital and medical coverage to those who are eligible.

MVP still will offer Medicare Advantage plans in Western New York and across the state, but the insurer is sharply increasing the cost of the remaining plans. The premium increases will range from $29 to $64.50 a month, or 44.8 percent on average, according to MVP.

About 5,500 seniors in this area receive Medicare Advantage through MVP. Overall, 54 percent of area seniors are enrolled in a managed Medicare plan.

The funding cuts included in the Affordable Care Act have been a point of contention in Washington. Overall federal reimbursements for the program fell 6 percent for 2014, but the Obama administration in April announced it was abandoning further cuts to the program that were planned for 2015.

email: swatson@buffnews.com

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