Newsflash!!!! Dodd-Frank and EPA regs were negotiated by the GOP house in order to pass spending bills. Affordable care act (not called Obamacare) is good for the country. I have seen with my own eyes octogenarians still working minimum jobs to buy medications and afford their Drs. The Affordable care act now allows them to retire as they should. The CEO of Bank of America received a bonus of 11.3 million after the 2nd quarter. I am sure he deserved it while middle income families struggle to meet monthly expenses..
Please show us where the Affordable Care Act allows seniors to retire.
Specifically, what were the changes to Medicare that lowered costs for seniors?
ONLY lowering costs for seniors on Medicare is the only way to measure it? lol
How the Affordable Care Act Helps Seniors
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law on March 23, 2010, aims to provide greater access to health care coverage, improve the quality of services delivered and reduce the rate of increase in health spending. The ACA provides new ways to help hospitals, doctors and other health care providers coordinate care for beneficiaries so that health care quality is improved and unnecessary spending reduced. Many seniors are already benefiting from provisions of the law such as receiving preventive services and paying lower Medicare prescription drug costs. Below are some of the ways that the Affordable Care Act is helping seniors.
Medicare Benefits Expanded
Preventive Services and Annual Wellness Visit
Lower Medicare Part B Premiums
Lower-Cost Prescription Drugs
Improvements for Medicare Advantage Plan Members
Medicare Fraud, Waste and Abuse
The ACA includes new resources and tools to protect taxpayer dollars by preventing fraud in Medicare and Medicaid by building on the efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department.
Medicare Delivery System and Payment Reforms
Helping Americans of All Ages
The ACA helps seniors and Americans of all ages. The law stops insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions; prohibits insurance companies from taking away coverage when someone needs services, eliminates lifetime limits on insurance coverage, allows young adults to stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26 and provides assistance to employers to help them continue providing retiree health insurance benefits. In 2014, the following ACA benefits go into effect, improving health care for more individuals and families.
- Requiring guaranteed issue and renewability of health insurance regardless of health status and allowing rating variation based only on age (limited to a 3 to 1 ratio), geographic area, family composition and tobacco use in the individual, small group market and the health insurance exchanges.
- Prohibiting annual limits on the dollar value of coverage.
- Creating state-based health insurance marketplaces where individuals and small businesses with up to 100 employees can purchase qualified coverage.
- Providing refundable, advance tax credits and cost sharing subsidies to eligible individuals to help pay for health insurance.
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How the Affordable Care Act Helps Seniors
That's a nice cut and paste, but here are the facts:
"The ACA expanded Medicare benefits, resulting in more savings for seniors. Medicare beneficiaries will save, on average, about $5,000 over the next 10 years due to lower drug costs, free preventive services and reductions in the growth of health spending. Since passage of the ACA, more than 7.9 million people with Medicare saved over $9.9 billion on prescription drugs."
That's a projection based on the assumed savings that have yet to materialize. So while the claim can be made that it will do something, it does not prove the claim the that ACA has already saved seniors money.
"Medicare beneficiaries are eligible to receive many preventive services with no out-of-pocket costs. These include flu shots, tobacco cessation counseling, as well as no-cost screenings for cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Seniors can also get an annual wellness visit so they can talk to their doctor about any health concerns. Because of the ACA, over 37 million seniors have received at least one of these preventive services with no out-of-pocket costs in 2013. "
This was already possible in every single Medicare Advantage Plan since the 1990s.
"ACA reforms are making Medicare more efficient and reducing overall health care costs, which has helped keep Part B premiums from rising. In 2014, the Medicare Part B premium is $104.90 and the Part B annual deductible is $147, the same as in 2013. The 2013 Part B monthly premium – $104.90 – was lower than previously projected by the Medicare trustees."
Again, this does not prove the claim made. If a senior is already struggling, keeping his premium flat does not help him retire.
"
Lower-Cost Prescription Drugs
- The ACA reduces prescription drug prices for seniors and closes the coverage gap, known as the “donut hole.” Medicare beneficiaries who fall into the coverage gap, known as the "donut hole," automatically receive a discount on prescription drugs. Each year, beneficiaries pay a reduced cost for brand name and generic drugs in the coverage gap. The law closes the coverage gap in 2020.
- In 2014, Medicare beneficiaries in the donut hole receive a 52.5 percent discount on brand-name drugs and a 28 percent discount on generic drugs. Seniors who reach the donut hole will save, on average, about $1,265 per beneficiary. Nearly four million people with Medicare who were in the donut hole in 2010 received a one-time, tax-free $250 rebate from Medicare to help pay for prescription drug costs."
This is only true of those seniors that go into and then come out of the coverage gap. The ACA lowers the initial level of the coverage gap which costs seniors more now than before. Only those seniors with prescription drug consumption levels high enough to go through the coverage gap save money. So a few save compared to before the ACA while the vast majority of seniors who go into the coverage gap wind up paying more out of pocket.
This does not prove the claim.
"Private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are getting stronger and less expensive."
No they aren't.
The average monthly premium for
Medicare Advantage plans in 2015 will be $33.90—an increase of $2.94, or 9.5%, over the current year. But as a result of more individuals seeking out lower-cost plans, the CMS estimates that the average premium hike will actually be $1.30 per month
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Also:
link
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Helping Americans of All Ages
The ACA helps seniors and Americans of all ages. The law stops insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions; prohibits insurance companies from taking away coverage when someone needs services, eliminates lifetime limits on insurance coverage, allows young adults to stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26 and provides assistance to employers to help them continue providing retiree health insurance benefits. In 2014, the following ACA benefits go into effect, improving health care for more individuals and families."
This has no effect on seniors.
So again, none of your copy/paste proves the claim. Here is the claim that was made again:
"I have seen with my own eyes octogenarians still working minimum jobs to buy medications and afford their Drs. The Affordable care act now allows them to retire as they should. "
Nothing in the Affordable Care Act does that. In fact, the Affordable Care Act increases costs on many seniors. The Medicare Advantage payout is lower, premiums for the plans are increasing, and the coverage gap threshold is lower each year until 2020.
