WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema held a discussion with Better Medicare Alliance to hear directly from Arizona seniors, community leaders, and health care providers and discuss how Medicare Advantage plans can increase Arizona seniors’ access to affordable, high-quality health care.
“We’ll keep working to strengthen and protect Arizonans’ access to Medicare, and help ensure hundreds of thousands of Arizona seniors have the affordable health care coverage they’ve earned through a lifetime of work,” said Sinema.
Sinema underscored her strong support of preserving the ability of Medicare beneficiaries to choose between Medicare Advantage plans or traditional Medicare. The roundtable served as an opportunity for Sinema to directly hear from Arizona seniors about their experiences and perceptions of Medicare Advantage. Thanks to Medicare Advantage plans, seniors do not have to enroll in one-size-fits-all health plan, allowing them much more flexibility for their unique health needs.
In Arizona, more than 45% of Medicare enrollees are Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. Medicare Advantage enrollees report $1,640 less in total annual health spending per beneficiary when compared to traditional, fee-for-service Medicare. Medicare Advantage delivers affordable coverage by capping out-of-pocket costs, lowering the costs of prescription drugs, and offering additional benefits that traditional Medicare does not cover, such as integrated vision, hearing, dental, wellness programs, in-home caregiver support, and innovative telehealth options.
