policy

January 29, 2018

The Honorable Paul Ryan                                                                  The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives                                         Majority Leader, United States Senate

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi                                                             The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives                          Democratic Leader, United States Senate

via electronic communication

Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, Leader Pelosi, and Leader Schumer:

On behalf of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans and our 27 DSNP members operating in 15 states, I am writing to urge you to support the inclusion of a permanent extension of the authority for D-SNPs in stand-alone legislation or as part of the short-term continuing resolution package that is passed no later than February 8 of this year.

Despite bipartisan Congressional support for the MA D-SNP program, ACAP is disappointed that Congress has yet to reauthorize this important program.  D-SNPs integrate the delivery and management of Medicare and Medicaid benefits for high-need dual eligibles, nearly all of which suffer from serious developmental and physical disabilities and complex chronic illnesses.  Despite full awareness of existing statutory deadlines, this program’s authority expires at the end of this year and the deadline for applying for plan sponsorship for the 2019 plan year is February 14^th – a little more than two weeks away!

Failure to provide long-term D-SNP predictability has left states, plans, and beneficiaries under a shadow of great uncertainty.  That is why permanent reauthorization of D-SNPs is necessary to spur private-sector investment and better enable SNPs to innovate in the areas of coordinated care and disease management.  These initiatives have led to lower hospital admission and readmission rates for D-SNP enrollees, shorter lengths of stay, and more physician visits in comparison to traditional Medicare.

Again, ACAP is asking for you to support immediate and permanent authorization of the D-SNP program no later than February 8^th as part of, or coincident with, the expiration of the next short-term FY2018 continuing resolution.

Thank you for your attention to this pressing issue. ACAP looks forward to continuing to work with you to protect the interests of America’s Medicare/Medicaid dual eligible population.

Sincerely,

/s/
Margaret Murray
Chief Executive Officer