Current Health Care Bill 2010
Will people be able to keep their current health care coverage?
I read in the November 2009 copy of the AARP Bulletin that 630,000 Medicare Beneficiaries MUST change to a different Medicare Advantage ( MA) health plan or switch to traditional Medicare in 2010. This is due to current MA plans exiting Medicare in some areas. They are leaving because many of these plans are Private fee-for-service plans that face Cuts in federal payments in 2010. Do you think this is an example of what is to come regarding people who will have no choice in keeping current coverage and eventually be on a Government Health Plan? If Medicare is CUT by $500 Billion dollars, will this be the norm for a large number of Seniors? Although the health care bill calls for the Billions in cuts, do you think these cuts will ever be made? If not, doesn’t that suggest the current Trillion dollar cost estimate for the health bill is FAR short of what the total cost will be for all? And therefore, NOT be budget neutral which is a key point that the administration said MUST HAPPEN?
Yes, some people will see cuts in benefits and many people will be forced to change plans. Is this a large price to pay to cover 30 million new individuals in sweeping health-care legislation? Not at all. The cuts in Medicare Advantage you’re referring to are really cuts to entitlement benefits, i.e.people who are enrolled in MA are getting excessive benefits such as better hearing, vision and dental coverage and a disease management plan, and really it is just cheaper to have more people enrolled in standard Medicare. A large portion of the cuts to Medicare are hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to insurance companies that are no longer needed, and this is just a book-keeping change so it will be eliminated right away. As to how much savings will be produced by the independent panel looking for waste in the system and the renewed focus on preventative care remains to be seen, but I’m rather optimistic.
Dr. Ria Gilday 2010 Healthcare Bill Please contact your Congress and Senate