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Bilirakis Calls Delayed Medicare Refunds Owed to Many of His Constituents 'Unacceptable' |
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July 19, 2007
WASHINGTON --
U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) today expressed his deep displeasure with both
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Social Security
Administration (SSA) for their inability to sort our seriously delayed refunds
owed to his constituents.
"We need to get to the bottom of this. It is completely unacceptable that
my constituents have been waiting so long for their refunds," Bilirakis
said. "I urge the responsible parties to get this cleared up, and
immediately inform us as to the status of these requests."
In a two-paged letter sent to CMS Acting Administrator Leslie Norwalk on
Thursday, Bilirakis cited more than 200 cases of constituents enrolled in
Medicare Advantage plans, which cover Medicare Part B premiums, who still had
the premiums deducted from their Social Security checks. In some cases, these
erroneous deductions went on for more than 12 months at a cost often exceeding
$2,000.
"These delays have created a serious financial strain on my constituents, many
of whom rely on their Social Security checks as their primary source of
income," wrote Bilirakis, who sent the letter after repeated unsuccessful
attempts to get the status of his constituents' cases. "I am deeply troubled
that many of them have been forced to forego rightfully deserved Social
Security payments because of bureaucratic backlogs and unresponsiveness from
federal officials."
Also on Thursday, Bilirakis supported an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2008
Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill that would prohibit funds
from being used to pay performance-based bonuses of senior officials at both
CMS and SSA.
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