Email
During this election season, perhaps no issue is more important to seniors like me than what is going to happen to Medicare. Our greatest concern is that governmental policies will cause our Medicare coverage to shrink significantly, if not disappear altogether.
Many have claimed that this is exactly what will happen as a result of the Affordable Care Act. It is simply not true.
The truth is the Affordable Care Act has built-in protections for Medicare, and the act will allow it to stay around for the foreseeable future. There will be no loss of services previously available. Whatever benefits our Medicare coverage provided us before will remain, including the freedom to choose our own physicians. We can therefore rest knowing that the ACA will not force us outside our comfort zones.
So there should be no doubt that the Affordable Care Act will preserve Medicare. In fact, one could say that the ACA actually improves it. For instance, under the ACA, those covered by Medicare will now be granted free preventive services without being charged the Part B coinsurance or deductible. These free preventive services include annual wellness exams, which range from bone mass measurements to cardiovascular screenings.
Not only is the Affordable Care Act’s protection of Medicare good news for seniors from a health standpoint, but from a financial standpoint as well. During the law’s first year, those seniors who fell into the “doughnut hole” received a one-time, tax-free $250 rebate for relief. On top of that, those of us who are currently in the doughnut hole because of steep prices on our prescription drugs will now receive a 50 percent rebate on all covered brand-name drugs while in the doughnut hole.
Too many seniors end up neglecting their medications because of the high cost, but this discount should rectify the problem. In addition, under this plan the doughnut hole will be closed completely by 2020. This means that the ACA was created with an understanding that it is often difficult for seniors to afford high-quality health care, regardless of coverage.
On the other hand, the Romney-Ryan plan would basically lead to Medicare’s demise. If elected, Romney would work to repeal the ACA, which would effectively turn Medicare into a private, voucher-based system. In other words, Medicare would be taken out of the government’s hands and transitioned into the private sector – a system that has failed many seniors in the past. Deductibles would return, and the cost of health care for senior citizens would climb to unreachable heights for many.
The name of the leader of our country is not what is most important to seniors like me. What is important is ensuring that our Medicare coverage is preserved for the sake of our health and our checkbooks. The Affordable Care Act seems determined to do just that. That is why I am putting my full support behind this health care law. I encourage other seniors to do the same.
