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Press Release August 5, 1998 |
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WASHINGTON – A unique, year-long Consumer Reports
investigation of the Medicare marketplace finds shrinking benefits,
premiums on the rise, and options that offer hollow choices for
seniors.
CR Health policy Editor Trudy Lieberman will preview her findings,
to be published in the September issue of Consumer Reports, at a
briefing in the DC Offices of Consumers Union. Discussing what is at
stake for consumer in the current battles before Congress will be
Adrienne Mitchem, Legislative counsel at CU’s Washington, D.C.
office.
More than 200 Medicare HMOs and over 1,200 Medicare Supplemental
Insurance policies in 19 cities across the country were surveyed.
Lieberman’s investigation compared Consumer Reports’ own
Medicare price database, compiled in 1994, with Medicare prices
seniors in many major cities face today. She will discuss why senior
health care options are becoming prohibitively expensive and
confusing and what the future holds.
Cities included in the survey are Atlanta; Boston; Chicago;
Cincinnati; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Jacksonville, Fla.; Los Angeles;
Manchester, N.H.; Miami; Minneapolis-St. Paul; New Orleans; New York;
Phoenix; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Seattle; and St. Louis.
The survey will be released to briefing attendees embargoed for
publication at 10:00 PM EST on Wednesday August 12. Please RSVP by
noon the day before to reserve a seat. Light refreshments will be
served.
A conference call briefing will be available at 2:30 PM EST on
August 11 for out-of-town press who dial-in at 1-800/474-4105, ID#
7703. Members of the press who RSVP by noon the day before will
receive an advance copy of the embargoed article via next day
mail.
To obtain a schedule of future "Consumer Front Lines" briefings by
Consumers Union call 202/238-9258 and request document number
3109.
FULL DETAILS FOLLOW:
WHAT: Consumers Union Posts Results from a 19-city Medicare HMO
Survey WHERE: 1666 CT Avenue, Suite 310 DATE: Tuesday, August 11 WHEN: 12:30 - 1:30 PM EST
