subject: Expected Health Care Benefits For Seniors In 2011 [print this page] The Affordable Care Act was signed into law to help increase the impact and range of expected health care benefits for seniors in 2011. Overall, the reforms are focused on lower to middle-income retirees, as these individuals are among those unable to cover the costs of healthcare in their golden years.
Free Preventive Medical Care
One provision from the act gives seniors who qualify for Medicare preventive care at no cost. The reform is overseen by the US Preventive Services Task Force, and is one of the most substantial. It is aimed towards helping about 45 million Medicare-insured retirees by way of free annual physicals and individualized plans for preventive care. The bottom line here is that wellness appointments no longer come with costs that seniors have to pay out of their own pockets.
Medicare Rights Center president Joe Baker says that this provision gives seniors a valuable service, as it allows those who would otherwise be unable to receive some forms of medical attention (such as an annual checkup) access to free, high-quality preventive medical attention. Zuckerman reports that the act also gives doctors larger incentives to work with Medicare-insured patients, thus addressing the problem of inaccessible primary care, this is a problem that grows with an aging population.
The Medicare Drug Gap
In addition to the free preventive care that allows seniors to get yearly checkups, those who are covered by Medicare Part D can take advantage of lower costs of medication. These retirees get half off brand-name medication and 7% off generic medicines in 2011. The discounts will gradually be implemented up to the year 2020, where the gap between the primary coverage limit and the low coverage threshold in the prescription medication program of Medicare Part D will be sealed entirely. Tassey says that prior to the act, seniors needed to pay the full retail cost for medication once the limit was reached.
Insurance Cost Regulation
The reform also limits how much seniors spend for their premiums by establishing a ratio for insurance providers; one that seeks justification for any increase in premium payments. An exceeded ratio results in rebates for policy holders, although the might of the reform still banks on the strict enforcement of local regulators.
Aside from these benefits, seniors will receive aid if they are enrolled in high-risk Medicare programs, as well as impose the display of the nutritional values of some commercially-sold foodstuff. However substantial or seemingly trivial, all of the expected health care benefits for seniors in 2011 are projected to increase overall finances and quality of life for the average retiree.
by:Katherine Smith
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