Changes to the Medicare Program

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) had mame dramatic changes in the field of the health care system, especially in Medicare, that will seriously take effect in American seniors. Indeed, much of the health law’s new spending is financed by spending reductions in the Medicare program. In addition to the provider payment reductions, Obamacare significantly reduces payments to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans by an estimated $156 billion from 2013 to 2022.( Elmendorf, letter to Speaker Boehner). About 27 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in MA plans, a system of regulated and private plans competing against each other as an alternative to traditional Medicare. MA plans are attractive to beneficiaries because they offer more generous and comprehensive coverage than traditional Medicare by capping out-of-pocket costs and offering drug coverage to a rasonable

Since the late 1980s, Medicare has reimbursed physician services using the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), which encompasses 10,000 procedure codes. Each code is assigned resource-based relative value units (RVUs), which are designed to reflect physician work, practice expense, and malpractice expense. To adjust for local differences in cost of living, each RVU is modified using geographic practice cost indexes (GPCIs) and then converted to dollars using a “conversion factor.” This system rewards physicians who produce a high volume of services; not surprisingly, Medicare Part B expenditures have grown rapidly.

Health care coverage for individuals and small businesses will become more affordable and accessible (House Committee, 2010). The bill erases deductibles and co-payments for preventive care. Due to the recession, many American families struggle to pay the co-payment at their doctor’s office. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act does offer money directly to the consumer by eliminating co-payments at the doctor’s office (House Committee, 2010). There will be incentives for doctors to practice in poor areas of the country. For example, a new doctor fresh out of medical school would receive additional federal funds to establish their business and hire qualified personnel (House Committee, 2010).

Lots will be covered with help from the government just like before. Not much will change for seniors on Medicare. The law has already started helping with prescription drugs and better preventative care and that will continue. Medicaid will be expanding to cover more Americans, especially poor adults who were not eligible prior. If someone’s income is low, Medicaid will cover them most likely in a private insurance plan. However, the Supreme Court ruled that governors and legislatures in each state should decide whether or not to be part of expanding Medicaid. In states that got on board, the Feds will cover almost all the cost but for those who do not, Americans may be left with the same options that had before if they are poor. ***Check out state’s decision if you think you qualify***

On the whole, the Affordable Care Act reduces healthcare costs while providing better quality services for citzens accross the US. Farley says that the ACA’s reforms to Medicare saved “17 billion in fiscal year 2013” thanks to reductions in payments to private health insurance companies cover their customers through Medicare Advantage as well as adjustments to the annual updates to Medicare provider rates (Farley, 2014). This protects consumers from excessive charges by their insurance providers, by limiting how much insurance providers spend on their own services. And even though the cost of health care, per capita, is gradually increasing, the rate of that growth has decreased over time, thanks to the stipulations, as well as method of implementations, of the ACA. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

Fifty years ago, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare program into law. “It has been a reliable guarantor of the health and welfare of older and disabled Americans by paying their medical bills, ensuring their access to needed health care services, and protecting them from potentially crushing health expenses.” (Hamel, Blumenthal, Davis, & Guterman, 2015, p. 479). With the encouragement of George W. Bush, congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). The MMA extended Medicare to include prescription-drug coverage, known as Medicare Part D. In 2013, Medicare covered the health care expenses for 52.3 million Americans, costing $583 billon. Originally, Medicare had difficulty controlling costs; physicians and hospitals were

In order to fully evaluate the tradeoffs associated with the Medicare-for-all policy, it is imperative that a source of funding, or a payment model, is identified. Without this information, it is difficult to determine not only who would benefit and who would suffer, but how the system as a whole will respond to the healthcare choices of over 323 million people. Another important detail lies in the potential cost savings and efficiency for middle-class families. The Medicare-for-all plan promises to save the average American family anywhere from $3,800 to $5,100 a year in health care costs (Qiu, 2016). Instead of a traditional monthly premium, consumers would pay a much lower health care tax based on their household income. A household

The US healthcare system is currently undergoing what is arguably its biggest change since its enactment in 1935 with the Social Security Act. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barack Obama in an attempt to bring cost free preventative care to all American citizens. And while this may sound like good news since it will help take care of the 54 million Americans that were uninsured in 2010 when this Act was signed (Kocher 2010) not all of these changes to the healthcare system are beneficial. Many citizens will find themselves penalized by the fees and requirements of the ACA, along with many others

Health care in the United States (U.S.) is driven by a makeshift of services and financing. Americans access health care services in diverse ways, from private doctors’ offices, to hospitals, and to insurance providers. The effects of the ACA will have numerous changes impacting hospitals and physicians practices. One of the main goals of healthcare reform is to reduce Medicare expenses by combining payment for services provided by hospitals, doctors, and nursing homes into one lump sum, which will effect

already have or do not have medicare, there will still be a change that will be noticed. Other than

Medicare is our country’s health insurance program for people age 65 or older. Certain people younger than age 65 can qualify for Medicare, too, including those with disabilities and those who have permanent kidney failure. There are several changes for Medicare enrollees in 2017. The average increase is more than $4/month, and average premiums will be about $109/month for about 70 percent of enrollees. But the exact amount they’ll pay will vary depending on the dollar amount of the cost of living adjustment on their Social Security checks.

Under the new health care reform law over 47 million women will have access to women’s services with no out of pocket costs for preventative and wellness services (Obamacare, 2013). The low-income individuals will have the opportunity of getting health insurance coverage through the state exchange, Medicare, or Medicaid; however some states have opted out of the Medicaid expansion in which some low-income individuals will not be eligible. Seniors and other individuals eligible for Medicare will see expanding benefits and coverage options; however there will be decreases in home health payments and hospital coverage as well. Obamacare will require businesses with over 50 full-time employees to provide affordable health insurance coverage to its employees however small businesses with 25 employees or less will receive federal tax credits to help offset the costs that a small business will face to encourage these businesses to provide health coverage to

A number of changes to both state workers' compensation laws and the MSPA would eliminate the problems inherent in the current system. These solutions include modifying state workers' compensation laws to permit the parties to settle only the indemnity portion of the claim in states that do not already do so, applying the MSPA only to cases in which the primary payer is legally obligated to pay, instituting a safe-harbor threshold amount for settlements, creating a right of appeal from Medicare's rejection of a settlement proposal, and allowing claimant's to waive their rights to certain treatments under Medicare. Any one of these changes implemented on its own would be an improvement, but implementing all of them would create a much fairer system.

In fact, under the Affordable Care Act aims to expand the benefits of Medicare recipients. By 2020, Part D prescription drug insurance will no longer be subject to a donut hole. Which is when Medicare has paid over then amount they are will to pay, so the patient must pay out of pocket for the next. Fortunately, until 2020, patients that have fallen into the donut hole will only have to pay 55% of the cost of brand name prescription drugs. Preventative services have also been added to the expansion. Mammograms, screenings, vaccinations, and yearly wellness visit will be covered, without a copay, through Part B. In addition, the Affordable Care Act has expanded Medicare Funding to 2029. This will give at least an additional 12 years of life to the program. Hospitals will also be paid based on the rate of hospital readmissions (Paradise, 2016). For example, if a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is hospitalized and is then released, yet is readmitted to the hospital before they have been out of the hospital from their original stay for 30 days, the hospital will be

I am primarily concerned about how my family will be able to afford a Medicare provider because my family Along with the other 32% of families who are low-income in the USA need health insurance and planned parenthood provides Family Planning, Std testing,well-woman exams, cancer screenings and many more resources to low-income families. Other aspects of the same issue that affect my family, friends,