The Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare as it is commonly known, doesn’t raise premiums for seniors; the AARP has predicted that it could hold the costs of Medicare Part B premiums down, if not lower them. The official formula for determining Medicare Part B premiums was established by Congress years ago and has not been negatively affected by the Affordable Care Act.
Even though the ACA “cuts” Medicare; it isn’t really a cut, it’s health care reform aimed at improving care for seniors. The fact is, millions more seniors will be covered under the Affordable Care Act. Here are some things that the program does to improve Medicare:
- The Affordable Care closes the “donut hole” that was causing Seniors not to be able to afford their prescriptions. (The Medicare “donut hole” is the Part D drug coverage limit where seniors must start paying out of pocket for their prescriptions.) In 2012, seniors got a 50 percent discount when buying brand name drugs and 14 percent discount on generic drugs covered by Medicare Part D. This reform gets stronger every year, increasing coverage and closing the donut hole until it disappears in 2020. From that point on, seniors will only pay usual drug co-pays.
- The Affordable Care Act expands existing coverage for seniors, including preventive care and wellness visits without charging you for the Part B co-insurance or deductible. Seniors will no longer need to put off preventive care and check-ups due to costs. This reform has been active since 2011 and gives seniors better access to cancer screenings, wellness visits, personalized prevention plans, vaccines, flue shots and more.
- New initiatives to support care coordination, your doctor may get additional resources to make sure that your treatments are consistent.
- The Affordable Care Act does not cut any benefits from Medicare Advantage.
- The Affordable Care Act reduces payments to Medicare advantage rewarding those providers who increase the quality of their coverage. Medicare Advantage pays will now be more in line with other areas of Medicare.
- The Affordable Care Act reigns excess spending on Medicare Advantage, which is currently causing a burden on the tax payer that is disproportionate to the amount of people it helps. Medicare Advantage is run by private insurers and costs $1,000 more per person.
- According to the CMS Medicare beneficiaries are expected to save, on average, about $4,200 over the next 10 years due to lower drug costs, free preventive services and reductions in the growth of health spending.
- The protection of Medicare is ensured for years to come. The life of the Medicare Trust fund will be extended to at least 2029—a 12-year extension due to reductions in waste, fraud and abuse, and Medicare costs, which will provide you with future savings on your premiums and coinsurance.
The fact is, the Affordable Care Act’s Medicare Reform does a lot to help seniors, as the bill addresses Medicare more than any other single issue. Many of the attacks against the ACA, or ObamaCare, in regard to Medicare are unfounded, although the program isn’t perfect one only needs to look at how seniors have benefited from the care and protections of Massachusetts health care reform under Governor Romney to understand how the Affordable Care Act will impact Medicare.