The Senate-passed health care reform bill dramatically cleared the House on a 219-212 vote last Sunday evening, and President Obama signed it into law on Tuesday. More details on the vote here.
The reform phases out the doughnut hole gap in prescription drug coverage, providing a $250 rebate in 2010 for seniors who fall into the hole. Beginning in 2011, seniors will receive a 50% discount on their prescription drugs when they fall into the doughnut hole, and by 2020 the doughnut hole will be completely eliminated. Many seniors like Priscilla King of New Hampshire, Stella Johnson of Washington D.C. and Bob Meeks of Florida are relieved that their work to close the doughnut hole finally paid off.
In summary, the bill does the following:
· Covers preventive services; in 2011, seniors in Medicare will receive free annual check-ups with no co-payments for mammograms, colonoscopies and other preventive screenings;
· Supports early retiree coverage, providing financial assistance to employer health plans that cover early retirees;
· Encourages doctors to coordinate care and improve quality, creating incentives for providers to work together and reduce wasteful care like repeated tests;
· Removes obstacles to changing Part D prescription drug plans, allowing Part D enrollees to make a mid-year change in their enrollment if their plan makes an unexpected change;
· Expands the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy, which will significantly help struggling seniors afford their health care costs;
· Enacts the CLASS Act, creating a new, voluntary long term care insurance plan;
· Enacts the Elder Justice Act, authorizing new criminal background checks on long-term care workers who have access to residents or patients; and
· Eliminates wasteful overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans while creating incentives for coordinated, high quality care across the health care spectrum, extending the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by 9 years and improving Medicare for generations to come.
In the next six months, the following measures go into effect:
· Provides a $5 billion reinsurance fund to help employers who provide health benefits to early retirees ages 55 to 64 (goes into effect in 90 days);
· Eliminates pre-existing conditions for non-dependent children up to age 26;
· Prohibits insurers from placing lifetime limits on coverage;
· Restricts new plans’ annual limits on coverage;
· Provides $5 billion to states to create a high risk insurance pool for those denied insurance due to pre-existing conditions and who have been without insurance for 6 months;
· Prohibits rescission, or dropping coverage, when individuals become sick;
· Creates a public health and wellness fund and requires new private insurance plans to offer preventive services without co-payments;
· Provides up to 35 % tax credits to small business that offer health care coverage; and
· Creates a new and independent health insurance appeals process for consumers
In addition to misinformation about seniors & health reform, misinformation also spread on how the health care reform will affect veterans’ care. The health care bill provides protections for veterans and the health care they have earned through their service. President Obama has strongly supported a 16% budget increase in 2010 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the largest in over 30 years. TRICARE, the U.S. Department of Defense’s military health care program, will continue to be available for all eligible servicemen and women, and their families.
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