This page features the answers to some of the common questions people have about health reform and what it means for seniors.
1. Will health reform reduce the coverage I get from Medicare?
None of the health care reform proposals being considered by Congress would cut Medicare benefits or increase your out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services. In fact, health care reform will reduce costly, preventable hospital readmissions, saving patients and Medicare money.
2. Will it reduce my coverage for prescription drugs?
Health care reform will lower prescription drug costs for people in the Medicare Part D coverage gap or “doughnut hole” so they can better afford the drugs they need.
3. Will there be death panels that want to deny care to older people to save money?
Health care reform will NOT give the government the power to make life-and-death decisions for anyone regardless of their age. Those decisions will be made by individuals, their doctor and their family. No one, including the government or your insurance company, will be given power to make life-and-death decisions for you.
Health care reform isn’t about putting the government in charge of difficult end of life decisions. It’s about giving individuals and families the option to talk with their doctors in advance about difficult choices every family faces when loved ones near the end of their lives.
4. I have Medicare. Will I still be able to see the doctor I want to see?
Health care reform will protect seniors’ access to their doctors and reduce the cost of preventive services so patients stay healthier.
5. My doctor told me he might have to stop taking Medicare if health reform happens. Is that true?
Health care reform will ensure doctors are paid fairly so they will continue to treat people in Medicare. In fact, if health care reform is not enacted this year, ALL doctors in Medicare will face a 21 percent cut in their fees. Health care reform will also provide primary care providers with bonus payments, which will help ensure that people with chronic conditions get the care they need.
6. How can they save money in Medicare but not cut my benefits?
By finding savings in three areas: First, by reducing excessive payments to some Medicare Advantage private insurance plans. On average these Medicare Advantage plans get paid 14 percent more than traditional Medicare for perks that only some seniors receive and without showing any better medical results.
Second, many hospitals and drug companies have agreed as part of health care reform to lower future costs for their services.
Third, we can eliminate waste and fraud in the system. These steps are projected to slow the expected cost increase in the Medicare program by three percent over 10 years.
7. I like Medicare, why would Congress mess with it?
Current health care reform proposals will protect what works in Medicare and preserve current Medicare benefits. But it will also improve coverage with a package of improved services such as coordinating care for chronic conditions, reducing medical error, and lowering costs for preventive care.
It will also lower drug prices by closing the coverage gap (or doughnut hole) ensure that Medicare pays doctors fairly so you can keep the doctor of your choice or more easily find a doctor if you don’t have one, and improve quality and coordination for the treatment and management of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. These changes should strengthen Medicare for the future by adding extra years to its fiscal health.
8. Will health care reform help me if I need assistance to stay at home as I get older?
Yes. Some of the proposed changes will make long-term care more affordable and help relieve family caregivers’ burdens by creating a new voluntary long-term care services insurance program, which will provide a cash benefit to help seniors and people with disabilities obtain service and supports that will enable them to remain in their homes and communities.
In addition, there will be more protections to ensure that spouses of those needing Medicaid home and community based services for long-term care will not be forced to spend down into poverty.
9. I’m in a Medicare Advantage Plan. What will health reform mean for me?
All the proposals being considered in Congress would reduce the subsidies paid to private insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans, which now receive an average of 14 percent more per person than traditional Medicare. These MA-plan subsidies have led to record profits for insurers, while draining the Medicare trust fund of needed resources. There are NO health reform proposals, however, that either cut Medicare Advantage benefits or diminish the guaranteed benefits that all Medicare participants receive. If a private insurer responds to subsidy reductions by changing any of its plan benefits, it will be a business decision the insurance company has made on its own.
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