How Will Healthcare Reform Laws Affect Seniors?

With passage of the healthcare reform law in 2010, there are a handful of changes senior citizens and aging Americans should be aware of:

Changes to Government Medicare Benefits

There are two main upgrades to the quality and cost of care that seniors can look forward to:

• Wellness and Prevention Services:
From annual checkups to cancer screenings, many preventive services will be free for those who receive Medicare. No co-pays or deductibles will be required. By Fall 2011, Medicare patients will have access to a comprehensive health risk assessment and a free personalized prevention plan to help them and their doctors continue to focus on wellness instead of just illness.

• The prescription drug "donut hole"
The gap in the coverage of drugs for Medicare patients will close over the five years it will take to implement healthcare reform. That gap amounted to more than $3600 in 2010, for which seniors who have been affected by the donut hole will receive a partial rebate. Over the next several years, seniors will be responsible for less and less of the cost of their drugs, depending on their income levels.

Changes to Private Medicare Benefit Programs: Medicare Advantage

11.4 million Americans over 65 receive their Medicare-covered health care through private health insurance plans known as Medicare Advantage. Today the federal government pays private insurers to manage these programs 14 percent more per person than they pay for the traditional Medicare fee-for-service plans and, in turn, insurers offer additional coverage such as prescription drugs and dental and vision care. The new health reform law will reduce, but not eliminate, the additional payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Consumers may see some benefits such as free gym memberships and eyeglasses adjusted, as the law cuts $136 billion from Advantage programs.

Since these are private companies, each one will react differently to the changes in reimbursements from the government. There will be no changes (by law) through the end of 2010.

Medicare Advantage plans cannot, however, by law, cut guaranteed Medicare benefits.

 Addressing Rumors about Medicare Cuts

Medicare will cut $400 billion in reimbursements to hospitals over the next several years, but those cuts were pre-arranged with hospitals and were specified for emergency room care. Once 32 million new people have payment coverage, that money will no longer need to be paid to those ER's.

Groups representing the interests of seniors, like the AARP and the Medicare Rights Center, are satisfied that these cuts will not have a negative effect on their members and constituents.