The Affordable Care Act has been in the news a lot this year since the start of the new health insurance exchanges, but how does it affect seniors in Huntsville, Alabama?
People who have Medicare coverage (those age 65 or older or those who have received Social Security disability benefits for more than two years) are not affected by the ACA, also known as Obamacare, because Medicare is not a part of the act’s Health Insurance Marketplace.
If you are a Medicare beneficiary, your Medicare benefits should not be changing. There’s no need to replace Medicare coverage with marketplace coverage.
However, some provisions of the ACA do affect Huntsville’s seniors.
More than 8 million seniors in 2007 hit the “donut hole”, which is the gap in prescription drug coverage in Medicare Part D. Medicare stopped covering drug costs after a plan and beneficiary spent more than $2,830 on prescription drugs. It started paying again after an individual’s out-of-pocket expenses exceeded $4,550. Now, beneficiaries who hit the donut hole will receive a $250 rebate, as well as a 50% discount on brand name drugs in the donut hole. In 2020, the donut hole will be closed.
The act also eliminates deductibles, copayments, and other cost-sharing for preventive care in Medicare while providing free annual wellness checkups.
In the first 11 months of 2013, 42,778 participated in annual wellness screenings and 72 percent of Original Medicare Part B enrollees in Alabama received all free services.
The act is expected to reduce the growth rate of Medicare spending, according to Health and Human Services. For decades, spending outstripped U.S. economic growth, but now Medicare spending is expected to grow at approximately the same rate of growth as the economy over the next decade. This serves to preserve the future of Medicare to serve the needs of senior citizens.
These are just some of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that are proving to be highly beneficial to the health care of senior citizens.