Medicare and the New health care reform

This is not a political statement from our office, this is just an EDUCATION for our patients about the New Health care reform law, the way it is currently written.

I have had  so many concerns expressed by some of our patients who are on Medicare about how the new Heatlh Care laws affects them. We are Still accepting Medicare patients in our office

Here is a recap of how it affects you as a Medicare recipient from the health care reform website

 Seniors: Arizona’s 853,000 Medicare beneficiaries  will benefit as reform:

    * Lowers premiums by reducing Medicare’s overpayments to private plans.  All Medicare beneficiaries pay the price of excessive overpayments through higher premiums – even the 68 percent of seniors in Arizona who are not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. A typical couple in traditional Medicare will pay nearly $90 in additional Medicare premiums next year to subsidize these private plans. Health insurance reform clamps down on these excessive payments

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    * Reduces prescription drug spending.  Roughly 151,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Arizona hit the “doughnut hole,” or gap in Medicare Part D drug coverage that can cost some seniors an average of $4,080 per year. Reform legislation will provide a 50 percent discount for brand-name drugs in this coverage gap.

    * Covers free preventive services. Currently, seniors in Medicare must pay part of the cost of many preventive services on their own. For a colonoscopy that costs $740, this means that a senior must pay $17210  – a price that can be prohibitively expensive. Under reform, a senior will not pay anything for that colonoscopy, or for any other recommended preventive service. A senior will also get free annual wellness visits to his or her provider, with a personalized prevention plan to remain in good health.

Read more: Medicare and the New health care reform