Medicare and the New Health Care Law— What it Means for You
A few weeks ago, there was a great deal of flap about a flyer sent to Medicare beneficiaries regarding the changes made by PPACA. Democrats said it was just information these folks needed and Republicans said it was misleading, wrong and promotional.
Guess what, I have to give it to the Republicans on this one. I received my message from Kathleen Sebelius, “Medicare and the New Health Care Law-What it Means for You.” For the most part, it is more of the rhetoric from the debate, more insurance company bashing and it contains much information that has nothing to do with Medicare at all. One of my favorite phrases is,
it will provide you and your family greater savings (I wonder how many on Medicare have family coverage) and increased quality health care (amazing, huh?).
It will also ensure accountability throughout the health care system so that you, your family, and your doctor-not insurance companies- have greater control over your care.
Wait a minute; this is Medicare we are talking about, right? What do insurance companies have to do with Medicare (and when did they ever have control over your care)?
The flyer says under the heading “Improvements to Medicare Advantage” that
Medicare pays Medicare Advantage insurance companies over $1,000 more per person on average than Original Medicare, but if you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, you will still receive guaranteed Medicare benefits. These additional payments are paid for in part by increased premiums by all Medicare beneficiaries – including the 77% not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan.
Of course, the idea was that if you are in an Advantage plan the advantage is that you receive benefits considerably beyond standard Medicare benefits, oops! Moreover, who told CMS to pay these plans the extra $1,000 in the first place? Shouldn’t we be mad that we have been paying these “extra costs” all these years and it took a 2,000 page piece of legislation to change a government screw up? It is like the sudden revelation that money can be saved by controlling fraud and abuse.
However, the new law “protects” Medicare Advantage members by ensuring that at least 85% of every dollar these plans receive is spent on health care, rather than administrative costs and insurance company profits – sound familiar?
Of course, there is an entire section, “Improvements Beyond Medicare That You and Your Family Can Count On.”
Another favorite section reads,
“Over the next 20 years, Medicare spending will continue to grow, but at a slightly slower rate as a result of reductions in waste, fraud, and abuse. This will extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by 12 years and provide cost savings to those on Medicare.”
Gee, they forgot to mention that Congress is having a hard time keeping the multi-billion dollar savings from assumed cuts in physician payments in place. On the other hand, we are told (I added the bold highlight),
“In 2018, seniors can expect to save on average almost $200 per year in premiums and over $200 per year in co-insurance compared to what they would have paid with the new law.”
If you are enrolled in Medicare as I am, you better hope that all the promises for cost control are kept because the stage has been set for higher and higher benefits and higher costs and premiums as a result. This is a massive entitlement expansion with the typical promises and cost estimates by the politicians in power at the moment.
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