Concord, N.H. – Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) joined a recent roundtable convened by Better Medicare Alliance and moderated by Tom Maher, Regional Director of the Healthcare Leadership Council, to discuss the value of Medicare Advantage for New Hampshire seniors. Thanks to the program, thousands of Granite State beneficiaries can access high quality, comprehensive and preventative care that improves health care outcomes and lowers out of pocket health care.

A diverse group of stakeholders including Cindy Lafond, executive director for Health Interventions at the Granite YMCA; Susan Stearns, executive director of NAMI-NH; and Susan Dow and Janet Wimpey, both Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, joined Rep. Kuster and Tom Maher to discuss their professional and personal experiences with Medicare Advantage, highlighting how important Medicare Advantage is for seniors and under-resourced communities. More than 95,000 Granite Staters choose enrollment in Medicare Advantage, including over 41,000 in New Hampshire’s Second District alone. The participants also thanked Representative Kuster for her continued support of Medicare Advantage. 

“Seniors across New Hampshire deserve the freedom of affordable, quality health care,” said Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02). “Medicare Advantage provides important supplemental benefits for more than 41,000 people across the Second District – and, as this program continues to grow, we must work together to ensure it is serving its beneficiaries. Thank you to all the advocates and leaders who joined me today to discuss how we can strengthen this important program. I look forward to bringing this conversation to Congress.”

Later in the roundtable discussion, Janet Wimpey, a Medicare Advantage beneficiary, shared that Medicare Advantage has improved her health outcomes while lowering her health care costs, “Medicare Advantage has been a godsend…Since I started with Medicare Advantage, my ability to pay for my medication and my membership at the Y through Silver Sneakers has greatly improved my physical and mental health...I am no longer pre-diabetic.”

Susan Dow, a Medicare Advantage beneficiary, added, “Medicare Advantage has been a gamechanger for me for my prescription prices. I take Ozempic. The Ozempic is almost $2,000 a month. I pay $10 for it … It’s been a gamechanger for me. It’s really changed my life.”

After listening to Ms. Wimpey and Dow’s moving stories about their experiences with Medicare Advantage, Susan Stearns, executive director of NAMI New Hampshire, noted how Medicare Advantage’s coordinated care is improving the lives of beneficiaries, “It really brings back home for me that something that I think Medicare Advantage is really helpful…[W]e know that that coordinated, integrated care is so critical to people being able to live full lives in their communities. We know this for people living with serious mental illness, but I think hearing the impact on your mental health that those stressors had and that your health challenges had I think really speaks to why we know we need this coordinated care approach.”

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