Seniors
Since beginning his career as co-founder of Oregon’s Gray Panthers, an advocacy organization for the elderly, and director of Oregon Legal Services, Senator Wyden has never stopped fighting for America’s seniors. As a member of the House of Representatives he authored the Medigap law regulating the private market for Medicare’s supplemental insurance policies. In 1997, Wyden passed a law updating Medigap regulations to require private insurance companies offering supplemental Medicare polices to guarantee issue to all eligible individuals regardless of health status or preexisting conditions. Those laws not only protected seniors from unscrupulous insurance practices, they remain the model for consumer protection today.
In the early 1990’s working with then Representative Olympia Snowe, Wyden was among the first to propose bipartisan legislation to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare and he has been the Senate’s leading proponent of empowering Medicare to use its market power to negotiate better drug prices for seniors.
During the 2009 health reform debate, Wyden successfully fought efforts to eliminate the Medicare Advantage program and instead attached an amendment to the Affordable Care Act creating a 5 star system to rate the quality of Medicare Advantage plans and reward the highest quality plans with bonus payments. In 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services reported that, thanks in part to this reform, enrollment in Medicare Advantage is up and more seniors have high quality health coverage.
Wyden’s “Independence at Home” program also passed as part of the Affordable Care Act, creating Medicare’s first home-based health program for seniors with chronic illnesses and he successfully amended Medicare rules to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries who go into hospice care do not have to give up the prospect of a cure. Wyden has received numerous award for his work on seniors issues including the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization for his hospice advocacy and his work on nursing home quality has been credited as the source of Medicare’s five-star rating system for nursing homes.
Latest
-
Wyden Bill Works to Make Palliative and Hospice Care Available to All Americans
Building on more than 35 years of working to ensure seniors are getting the best possible health care, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has introduced legislation to improve the recently recognized medical specialty of palliative and hospice medicine to help seniors and thos...…Read More
Posted on 07/19/12 | -
Wyden Discusses Opening Medicare Database to Cut Waste, Fraud & Abuse
Posted on 04/24/12 | -
Fixing Medicare by Keeping Seniors Healthy
Recognizing that raising premiums and cutting benefits aren’t the only ways to deal with the growing cost of Medicare, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced legislation today that experts say could save Medicare billions by h...…Read More
Posted on 03/28/12 | -
Wyden and Portman to Lead Expert Panel asking: “Can Medicare Save Money by Keeping Seniors Healthy?”
Need a break from health reform arguments? Think health care should keep people healthy? Want Democrats and Republicans to work together? Join U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rob Portman (R- Ohio) for a healthy snack and a conversation with...…Read More
Posted on 03/26/12 | -
Wyden: Rights of Senior Citizens Has Been My Passion of Public Service
Posted on 02/29/12 | -
December 2011
Posted on 01/09/12 -
Wyden Spokesperson Responds to Criticism of Wyden-Ryan Plan
In response to criticism from the White House and others that Wyden-Ryan would “end Medicare as we know it” Jennifer Hoelzer, Communications Director and Deputy Chief of Staff for Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), issued the following statement:
Posted on 12/15/11 |Read More