Medical Coverage Shows Little Impact From Healthcare Bill
November 2010
There's been a lot of speculation and confusion regarding Medicare Part D and how it will be effected by the
healthcare bill. Some seniors have heard that their costs will go up, while others have heard that they will get reimbursement checks in the mail, but fewer choices when enrollment time comes around.
For the most part it appears that though there will be some changes to Medicare Part D, the healthcare bill has had little impact overall on the
medical coverage offered to senior citizens.
According to Joe Baker, president of a non-profit Medicare rights program, "there are changes and new things to look at, [but] it's not a lot of change."
Open enrollment for Medicare Part D begins on the 15th of November and extends until December 31st. During this time seniors must choose from a variety of medical coverage plans and prescription drug plans. It's true that there will be fewer plans to choose from this year, but there will still be 33 plans available to seniors who want to add some form of prescription drug coverage to their Medicare plan.
What about costs? The prices for Medicare Part D are predicted to go up about 10%, a number not unusual for the year-to-year rise in medical inflation.
Those costs range from $27 per month in the lowest cost states to $46 dollars per month in higher cost states.
Facts on:
Medical coverage for seniors
Did you know...
Next year seniors in the dreaded "doughnut hole" will get 50% name brand medications.
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While medical coverage plans don't change much this year, what they cover in terms of medications does, which could be very good news for many seniors. Newer plans will offer a 50% discount on name-brand drugs for seniors who find themselves in the "doughnut hole," or that place where the Medicare isn't covering medications but catastrophic coverage hasn't kicked in yet.
And on top of that, more and more seniors will receive checks from the government designed to help them pay for those medications when Medicare doesn't cover them. By the year 2020 the "doughnut hole" should be entirely erased.
One place where seniors
will see change involves Medicare Advantage plans, which offer medical coverage from insurance companies. There will be fewer Advantage plans offered, and if you choose to disenroll in your Advantage plan, you'll have to go with regular Medicare instead of choosing another Advantage plan.
For seniors who don't like their Advantage plan, but fear that Medicare doesn't cover enough,
Medicare supplemental insurance could be a good solution.
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