Mercer and Crawford County residents with a Medicare HMO will be able to hear why they're paying higher premiums than people in nearby counties.

Tom Scully, head of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, will talk to the public from 10:30 a.m. to noon March 15 at UPMC WomanCare Center, 875 N. Hermitage Road in Hermitage. The event is being hosted by U.S. Rep. Phil English.

The Erie Republican's renumbered 3rd District covers most of Mercer and all of Crawford counties in addition to five other northwestern Pennsylvania counties.

Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Medicare and Medicaid health programs are run by the agency. The programs benefit about 75 million Americans.

The agency provides reimbursements to insurers offering Medicare HMOs in the Medicare+Choice program.

For more than two years insurers doing Medicare HMO business in Mercer and Crawford counties have received lower reimbursement rates because the federal agency said the two counties are rural areas. Erie County, also in English's district, was listed as rural until last year when it was placed in a metropolitan category and got a higher reimbursement rate.

Lawrence County and other counties surrounding Pittsburgh are in a higher tier metropolitan category created by CMS, which gets an even higher reimbursement rate than Erie, according to insurance companies.

As a result, seniors in Mercer and Crawford counties pay up to eight times more in monthly premiums than Lawrence County residents for a similar insurance package.

English has criticized CMS for having lower reimbursement rates for the two counties.

"In my previous conversations with Mr. Scully, I shared with him the plight of our local seniors as Security Blue rates surge and benefits continue to diminish," English said. "Those conversations prompted this meeting so that Mr. Scully has an opportunity to talk directly with local seniors.''