Medicare Changes
How will health reform affect Medicare recipients?
For more than 40 years, Medicare has offered critical health and financial stability for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and those with end‐stage renal disease, providing coverage for over 45 million individuals this year. The health reform legislation contains substantial payment and delivery system reforms that reward efficient delivery of quality care and change the incentives in today’s health care system to encourage value instead of simply volume. It makes investments that will enable beneficiaries to continue to access high‐quality, affordable care, while encouraging prevention and care coordination for those with chronic conditions. These efforts will help modernize the program and strengthen Medicare’s financial health, protecting both beneficiaries and taxpayers.
Medicare FAQ Sheet
A two-page fact sheet provided by the Medicare Rights Center answering the most frequently asked questions about changes to Medicare.
Questions and Answers on Medicare and Health Reform (pdf)
What It Means for You: Medicare and the New Health Law
This mailing from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) outlines key provisions of the Affordable Care Act for people with Medicare as well as members of their families. This is available in both English and Spanish.
Medicare and the New Health Law – What It Means for You (pdf)
Implementation Timeline
A timeline created by the Medicare Rights Center providing an overview of all the changes to Medicare now until 2014.
Medicare Part D Improvements
The Medicare Part D program was passed into law in 2003 and has been offering drug benefits to Medicare enrollees since January 1, 2006. The program has helped millions of seniors obtain prescription drug coverage. However, advocates have identified a number of problems with the program, including difficulties posed by the so‐called “donut hole,” where seniors lose coverage entirely for a portion of the year; burdens that cause many eligible low‐income enrollees to miss out on benefits; and inadequate consumer protections for Part D enrollees. The health reform bill includes many important improvements to the Part D program.
Medicare Part D Rebates
This brochure describes details about the tax-free, one-time check for $250 for people who enter the Part D donut hole and are not eligible for Medicare Extra Help.
Medicare Part D Rebate Brochure (pdf)
Closing the Doughnut Hole
The Affordable Care Act closes the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” – the gap in drug coverage during which people with Medicare must pay the full cost of their prescriptions out of pocket. This chart provided by the Medicare Rights Center illustrates how much a consumer will pay for both brand-name and generic drugs through 2020, when the doughnut hole phase-out will be complete.
Closing the Doughnut Hole (pdf)
The Affordable Care Act includes a one-time $250 rebate for people who reach the gap in Part D prescription drug coverage in 2010. This two-page fact sheet was created by the Medicare Rights Center.
$250 Doughnut Hole Rebate (pdf)
Timeline of Changes to the Medicare Prescription Drug Program
This is a two-page fact sheet provided by the Medicare Rights Center outlining changes to the Medicare Prescription Drug Program now until 2020.
Timeline of Changes to the Medicare Prescription Drug Program (pdf)
Curbing Taxpayer Subsidies for Private Insurers in Medicare
When private insurance companies first petitioned to join Medicare in the 1980s, they asserted they could provide more care for less than it costs Medicare to provide its services and agreed to be paid 5 percent less than Medicare fee‐for‐service rates to prove that point. Today, these same companies – now called Medicare Advantage (MA) plans – are paid on average 14 percent more than it costs to provide care through the traditional fee‐for‐service Medicare program. These overpayments drain the Medicare trust fund, raise premiums for all Medicare enrollees, and cost taxpayers $12 billion a year. Payment rates for private plans that contract with Medicare will be set to certain benchmarks that are linked to local Medicare spending.
For more information about changes to Medicare please visit our partners at the Medicare Rights Center. We also have additional information for seniors at our Seniors page.
