ObamaCare Medicare: Obamacare and Medicare?

Get the Facts on the Impact of ObamaCare on Medicare

Obamacare Medicare reform improves and expands Medicare for seniors. The ObamaCare Medicare cuts are estimated at $716 billion. Those cuts are reinvested into Medicare and ObamaCare to improve care for seniors and close the Medicare Part D " donut hole" among other things. Let's take a look at what the ObamaCare's Medicare cuts and reforms really mean for Seniors and how ObamaCare will impact Medicare and Medicare Advantage?

ObamaCare Medicare Insurance Premiums For Seniors

ObamaCare doesn't raise Premiums for seniors, if anything the AARP has predicted that it could hold the costs of of Medicare Part B premiums down, if not lower them. The official formula for determining Medicare Part B premiums was established by Congress years ago and has not been negatively affected by ObamaCare.

ObamaCare Medicare Tax Increase

ObamaCare impliments a ObamaCare Medicare tax increase of .9% for businesses and individuals in the top tax bracket to help pay for the improvements to Medicare. So while Seniors will save money by closing the donut hole and over all reforms, some people will pay more to help support ObamaCare Medicare reform.

ObamaCare Medicare Reform

Even though Obamacare "cuts" Medicare, it isn't really a cut, it's health care reform aimed at improving care for seniors. The fact is millions more seniors will be covered under Obama's health care plan. Here are some things that the program does to improve Medicare:

• ObamaCare closes the "donut hole" that was causing Seniors not to be able to afford their prescriptions. (The Medicare "donut hole" is the Part D drug coverage limit where seniors must start paying out of pocket for their prescriptions.) In 2012 seniors got a 50 percent discount when buying brand name drugs and 14 percent discount on generic drugs covered by Medicare Part D. This reform gets stronger every year increasing coverage and closing the donut hole until it disappears in 2020. From that point on seniors will only pay usual drug co-pays.

• ObamaCare expands existing coverage for seniors including free preventive care. Seniors will no longer need to put off preventive care and check-ups due to costs. This reform has been active since 2011 and gives seniors better access to cancer screenings, wellness visits, personalized prevention plans, vaccines, flue shots and more.

• ObamaCare reigns excess spending on Medicare Advantage, which is currently causing a burden on the tax payer that is disproportionate to the amount of people it helps. Medicare Advantage is run by private insurers and cots $1,000 more per person than traditional Medicare. ObamaCare reduces payments to Medicare advantage rewarding those providers who increase the quality of their coverage.

The fact is ObamaCare Medicare Reform does nothing but help seniors. Anything you hear on the contrary is a lie, just look at how seniors have benefited from the care and protections of Massachusetts health care reform under Governor Romeny.

ObamaCare cuts Medicare... But don't get confused by the Medi-scare, get the facts on what the program actually cuts, where the cuts are coming from and who exactly is framing it in such a negative light.

ObamaCare Medicare: Value-based Payment Rewards Hospitals for Providing Quality Care

As of Jan 1st ObamaCare's Medicare reform enacts a Value-Based Payment Provision. The Medicare provision states Hospitals can gain or lose 1% of Medicare funding or gain a 1% increase depending on 20 factors that gauge quality v. quantity care.

Specifically the factors include quality measures related to treatment of patients with heart attacks, heart failures, pneumonia and certain surgical issues, as well as patient satisfaction

In other words if a hospital has a high re-admittance rate or poor treatment they can lose a percentage of funding or if they have a low re-admittance rate they can gain funding.

Some hospitals have already been hurt, while some have gained significant funding. Although the drawbacks are obvious in the short term it has created an incentive to improve the quality of care in hospitals. 

ObamaCare Medicare penalities / rewards will rise over the next two years to a total of 2%.

Children under the age of 26 are able to be covered under their parents insurance. The caveat however is that if your parents are over 65 and therefore receive Medicare you are no longer eligible to be covered under their insurance. While this may "make sense" it comes as a low blow to those who took the law at face value.

Why Does ObamaCare Cut Medicare?

Over the next ten years ObamaCare will cut Medicare by $716 billion. Medicare currently affects over six hundred thousand physicians who care for nearly 100 times as many senior citizens who are provided for under Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Of course this bullet point sounds pretty drab. Why is the Affordable Care Act, a program designed to improve the healthcare system, aiming to take down a system that helps our senior citizens?

The purpose of the ObamaCare Medicare cuts is simple, it cuts out the parts of the programs that aren't working and uses that money to fix the parts that need reform. Millions of seniors are already getting free preventive treatments, wellness visits, rebates for out-of-pocket costs on drugs and are saving money due to ObamaCare starting to close the "donut hole."

ObamaCare cuts Medicare and Medicare Advantage $716 Billion 2013-2022. $415 Billion comes from cutting tax payer money going to doctors, hospitals and private insurance companies... Most health care officials, workers and hospitals agree that ObamaCare helps the health care industry and specifically Medicare and Medicaid.

The ObamaCare Medicare cuts will mainly affect Hospital reimbursement rates for hospitals and private health insurance companies. The claim is that by cutting the profit hospitals and insurance companies make off of Medicare and Medicare advantage the less help seniors will be able to get. This however, is nothing more than a Medi-scare.

Medicare is given to Seniors when they reach 65 and provides comprehensive care on behalf of the government. Medicare Advantage is a private coverage option which has driven profits of private health insurance companies up, yet puts a larger burden on the government to fund Medicare. ObamaCare Medicare cuts aim to fix this.

ObamaCare Medicare Advantage

When Medicare Advantage came onto the scene it was supposed to drive the costs placed on the government to provide "free" healthcare to seniors via medicare down. This would ultimately save the tax payer as private insurance companies would bid for contracts.

This isn't what happened however, it actually increased the amount we the taxpayers had to pay by driving costs up! So of course the private insurance companies don't like the idea of being regulated. That means less "free" money from the government from them... This stands in a stark contrast to the "no government" plea from the same side of isle who is propagating the Medi-scare.

ObamaCare also seeks to decrease the amount paid to hospitals for Medicare. However hospitals have already agreed to this since they know once everyone has insurance under the Affordable Care Act they will see a large influx in the amount of visitors to their hospitals, thus they will at least break even if not profit, while saving the tax payers money. Thus reforming the healthcare system.

Where do the Rest of the Medicare and Medicare Advantage Cuts Come From

It's no secret that the current Medicare system isn't working, it's bankrupting itself and causing an increasing burden on the tax payer. The rest of the cuts to medicare include things like Medicare Disproportionate Share Payments, which hikes up rates for others by ensuring care to uninsured patients, lower payments to home health providers and other cuts that do not affect seniors care but essentially make the system run smarter.

This isn't to say that ObamaCare lays out the perfect plan for Medicare, it only is saying that the drastic number of $716 billion is meant to save Medicare, fix what is wrong with it and ensure that it remains sustainable while providing quality, affordable healthcare to seniors.

So does ObamaCare Medicare reform cut Medicare and Medicare Advantage? Yes, But the Medicare cuts are a good thing. Millions of seniors will benefit from the ObamaCare Medicare reforms. Make sure to let the seniors in your life know that ObamaCare helps Medicare and seniors.