Senators Urge Trump to Rein in Medicare Advantage Upcoding

A bipartisan group of four senators is pushing the Trump administration to crack down on a practice known as upcoding in Medicare Advantage plans, according to a letter obtained by Bloomberg Government.

Upcoding is the practice of insurers diagnosing patients as sicker than they are to receive higher reimbursements, which a growing chorus of lawmakers say balloons the amount of taxpayer money spent on the program.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.), as well as Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) have all signed onto the letter dated March 30. Oversight ...