|
|
The Healthcare Bill And Medicare Supplemental Insurance
|
|
Will Seniors Still Get Their Coverage?
Seniors are worried these days about their Medicare coverage, their supplemental insurance plans, and how the new healthcare bill will effect them both.
And it's easy to see why. Rumors and accusations fly almost daily regarding what exactly will become of Medicare in coming years, and how the healthcare bill will play a part in covering the medical treatment and prescription drugs of millions of older Americans.
Two of the greatest fears are these: that the healthcare bill will cut $500 billion from Medicare and that seniors will lose their benefits. There is also some fear that Medicare supplemental insurance will cease to exist.
But according to The Washington Post these rumors aren't true.
First, the healthcare bill doesn't actually cut anything from Medicare. There are no "cuts" as we know them from Medicare at this time. What the bill does do is "slow the growth of Medicare spending over the next decade." This slower growth is supposed to come from fewer fees paid to hospitals, home health, and other providers who get those fees from Medicare itself.
The savings is projected to be more than $500 billion of the next decade, which is where the rumor came from.
However, if you pay for a Medicare Advantage plan then you may see a change in your benefits. Medicare Advantage is not a Medicare supplemental insurance plan, since the latter are purchased in conjunction with Medicare Parts A and B. Medicare Advantage is also known as Medicare C, and it is a private plan that seniors can purchase instead of traditional Medicare.
So while supplemental insurance plans aren't seeing any changes yet, Advantage plans will be getting less reimbursement, which means that some insurance companies might try to push those fees back to seniors, or to doctors.
This could also mean that those seniors who rely on Medicare Advantage may end up using traditional Medicare if the costs for Advantage plans go up. If this is the case, and traditional Medicare doesn't offer enough coverage, supplemental insurance plans might be a good option for filling in the gaps where traditional Medicare falls short.
 Do you recommend this article to others?
|
|
|
|
