Medicare / Rx
Give Thanks for MedicareWhen you gather around your tables to eat heartily, remember to give thanks not just for the meal, but also for Medicare. And do not forget that many of the building blocks of Medicare are at risk in the political battles ahead. There are many reasons to be thankful for this national treasure of a program; here are a few reminders:Medicare helps people live longer, healthier lives.; Thanks to Medicare, millions of Americans are able to afford life-saving care and have a better quality of life as they age.Medicare keeps people out of poverty; Medicare is a social safety net that has lifted millions of people out of poverty.; In fact, since Medicare was created in 1965, poverty among the elderly has been reduced by nearly two-thirds. Original Medicare is simple, popular and reliable.; People with Original Medicare are thrilled with the public-private partnership that allows them to see doctors and receive care at health care facilities throughout the United States ; this is the type of choice they resoundingly want. Original Medicare is cost-effective. Original Medicare’s administrative costs are 2 to 3 percent, while Medicare Advantage plans have administrative expenditures of up to 15 percentOriginal Medicare makes market sense.; Today there is a trend to reform or ;privatize; Medicare.; Why repeat an experiment that has already failed?; Medicare exists because insuring older adults and people with disabilities is a risk insurers didn’t (and still don’t) want to take.; Even today, people ages 55 to 64 struggle to find coverage, and when they do, they struggle to afford it. Insuring older adults and people with disabilities is a ;financial burden; insurers shun (except when they get hefty government subsidies); but isn’t it society’s moral obligation to bear that burden?Spend a little time thinking just how Medicare has helped you.; Maybe you were able to afford surgery to limit your risk for a stroke. Maybe you don’t have to worry about paying for a parent’s hospital stay that could quickly add up to the thousands of dollars earmarked for your mortgage. Or maybe you can sleep at night, knowing that after working your whole life, you can count on being able to get health care when you are old and sick. That is, as long as we work to strengthen Medicare as we know it.Recent Developments in MedicareIn 2010, Medicare has seen reform under the Obama administration, in the form of the “Patient protection and Affordable Care Act” and the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.”The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act was signed by President Obama on March 23rd, the first step to take shape in his long list of health care reform stepping stones. In order to mitigate the risk of capable, qualified individuals from abstaining from health care, the legislation includes a clause that actually imposes a tax penalty on those who choose to forgo health insurance. This clause is waived for those who do not reach a certain level of annual income, as not to prioritize the need for health care above other basic needs or assume that health care is within a reasonable affordability for all US citizens. The act also will expand Medicaid eligibility, use government money to subsidize insurance premiums, give incentives to business owners to provide affordable health care to their employees, establish health insurance exchanges to help insurers stay competitive in their offerings and remain fiscally solvent while providing health care to more people at lower rates, prohibit the denial of an insurance claim based on a pre-existing medical condition and allocate resources towards medical research.Just a week after the “Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act,” President Obama signed the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010″ into effect on March 30th. The second act served as an amendment to the first, offering some consolation to those who believe the first act was too far reaching. Among the more pressing changes in the original legislation likely to affect senior citizen medical coverage include an increase in the tax credit to buy insurance, a 55 reduction on the tax penalty for those who choose to forgo insurance, a rebate of 250 for senior citizens, eliminating the coverage gap in Medicare Part D, more generous subsidies to low income households, discounts on brand name and drugs within the year and an extension of the ban on lifetime coverage limits.Though critics believe these initiatives cost far too much on the front end, particularly in a shaky economic climate, the Congressional Budget Office holds that over the first full decade after enactment, the two acts will ultimately reduce the federal deficit by 143 billion.