Democratic Health Leaders Blast Trump Administration’s Incompetence Regarding Inaccurate Medicare Advantage Provider Directory—Demand Answers for Beneficiaries
House Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) wrote to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, demanding answers after the Washington Post reported that the Trump Administration released a provider directory for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which was created by a private vendor and contains inaccurate, incomplete, and contradictory information.
The initiative to develop the directory, which included members of DOGE, was started in July 2025, months before the launch of Open Enrollment for nearly 70 million beneficiaries, more than half of whom receive coverage through MA.
“This debacle is another DOGE-induced failure—one of many examples of President Trump’s incompetent initiatives wreaking havoc on American families...” Neal and Pallone wrote. “It appears to be part of a pattern of the Administration deliberately sabotaging popular programs through mismanagement to undermine confidence in these institutions.”
Having a directory with such inaccuracies may result in beneficiaries choosing the wrong plan during Open Enrollment, where they could learn later the doctor they chose was out of network, forcing them to bear high out-of-pocket costs or find new providers altogether.
“CMS knew that the search function was rife with errors, and yet the agency still allowed beneficiaries to use the data to make plan choices that influence access to care,” Neal and Pallone continued. “This is simply unacceptable.”
The Committee leaders urged Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz to ensure that “beneficiaries do not lose access to care due to plan enrollment choices they make because of inaccurate information.”
Ranking Members Neal and Pallone concluded their letter with a request for answers to numerous questions surrounding the provider directory. The Democratic Committee leaders asked who allowed DOGE to be involved in developing the provider directory, what sources did CMS use to determine whether providers were in or out of a plan’s network, what was the oversight of the development of the directory, and other questions Congress and Medicare beneficiaries deserve answers to.
The Administration has until November 4 to respond.
The full letter with questions sent by Ranking Members Neal and Pallone can be found HERE.
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