WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema received the Medicare Advantage Champion Award for her work this year protecting and expanding Arizona seniors’ access to timely, quality, and affordable health care.
“After a lifetime of hard work, Arizona seniors have earned quality, affordable health care to enjoy throughout their golden years. I’m honored to receive this year’s Medicare Advantage Champion award, and we’ll keep working with Better Medicare Alliance to protect and expand seniors’ health care coverage options,” said Sinema.
The Medicare Advantage Champion Award, presented by Better Medicare Alliance, honors lawmakers who work across the aisle to strengthen Medicare Advantage, the public-private partnership within Medicare.
The award, which is Better Medicare Alliance’s highest honor, acknowledges Sinema’s commitment to finding common ground between opposing political parties, advancing solutions-oriented legislation, and working alongside stakeholders to ensure their needs are reflected.
The recently-enacted Inflation Reduction law, which Sinema shaped to ensure Arizona priorities were reflected, includes the Senator’s historic, transformative Medicare drug negotiation plan that will reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors, save taxpayer dollars, and protect innovation to ensure Arizonans and Americans continue to have access to life-saving medications, and new cures and therapeutics.
Earlier this year, 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.
Last year, the Senator introduced the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act – bipartisan legislation supporting Medicare Advantage beneficiaries by ensuring seniors have access to timely, quality care when they need it.
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.
