Proposed legislation to increase Medicare payments to states like Washington received the unqualified endorsement of Olympic Medical Center CEO Mike Glenn on Monday when it was introduced in Seattle by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.
Medicare is a federal medical insurance program covering patients 65 and older as well as some disabled Americans.
Murray, D-Seattle, calls her legislation the MediFair Act and if approved it would guarantee that each person older than 65 would receive the national average reimbursements per beneficiary under Medicare.
Currently Washington state Medicare beneficiaries receive an average of $3,921 annually each, compared with the national average of $5,490. The average in New York state is $6,924.
That discrepancy is why Glenn joined Murray and other members of the state’s congressional delegation at a news conference Tuesday in Seattle.
Washington receives the eighth lowest reimbursement rate for Medicare patients in the nation.
———————
The rest of this story appears in Wednesday’s Peninsula Daily News. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.