NU Online News Service, Sept. 22, 2:33 p.m.EDT

WASHINGTON–A health insurance plans trade groupassailed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services today afterthe agency ordered Medicare Advantage providers to suspend what itsays are misleading mailings about health care and insurancereform.

America's Health Insurance Plans decried what it called a "gagorder."

Jonathan Blum, acting director of CMS' Center for Drug andHealth Plan Choices, noted mailings by the Humana group that statedthat if health care reform legislation as currently drafted, goesthrough, the Medicare Advantage program may be eliminated.

In his comments, Mr. Blum said that Humana has agreed to suspendthe mailings to Medicare Advantage recipients.

"We are concerned that the materials Humana sent to ourbeneficiaries may violate Medicare rules by appearing to containMedicare Advantage and prescription drug benefit information," Mr.Blum said. He said that such information "must be submitted to CMSfor review."

The portion of his statement which angered the American HealthInsurance Plans, was, "We also are asking that no other plansponsors are mailing similar materials while we investigate whethera potential violation has occurred."

Mr. Blum made clear that Humana, and by implication, other MAproviders who send such mailings, could be subject to "appropriatecompliance and enforcement actions."

But Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's HealthInsurance Plans, said the decision to ban mailings was unfair.

He said that the current health care reform proposals includemore than $100 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage that he argued"will have a devastating impact on the health security of the morethan 10 millions seniors enrolled in the program."

Mr. Zirkelbach added, "If these cuts are enacted seniors willface premium increases, reduced benefits, and in some parts of thecountry, will lose access to their Medicare Advantage planaltogether."

But a healthcare industry analyst who asked not to be named saidhe believes the Medicare Advantage providers are justoverreacting.

"CMS has just told the providers to stop sending outpropaganda," the analyst said. "This is an old insurance industrytrick."