How Health Reform Will Affect Seniors

As Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, the health and safety of America’s seniors are of paramount importance to me.  This new law will strengthen Medicare and begin to reign in the cost of the program while also extending its solvency.

Medicare and Medicare Advantage

Despite rumors to the contrary, no provision included in this new law will cut benefits to Medicare beneficiaries. It will transition Medicare to a more efficient system, where quality health care outcomes are rewarded and waste is reduced. In terms of the cuts to Medicare Advantage, this law will only cut back on overpayments to private Medicare insurers. No guaranteed benefits under Medicare will be cut.

Medicare Part D "Donut Hole"

This year, seniors will receive a $250 rebate check once they hit the donut hole. In 2011, seniors will begin to receive a small discount, 2.5 percent, on brand name drugs, increasing yearly until 2020, when the discount reaches 25 percent. For generic drugs, government subsidies will cover seven percent of costs starting in 2011, increasing to 75 percent by 2020. The donut hole will be completely phased out by 2020.

Preventive Care

For the 871,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Wisconsin, they will receive free annual wellness visits under Medicare beginning this year. Any out-of-pocket costs are eliminated for preventive care and screenings, such as mammograms.

Long-Term Care and Nursing Homes

The new law will give seniors and their families safer and more transparent long-term care options.  Below are long-term care provisions that I sponsored in the health care law.

A provision to provide consumers with more information about individual nursing homes and their track record of care; offer the government better tools for enforcing high quality standards; and encourage homes to improve on their own.

A provision that will prevent those with violent or criminal histories from working with vulnerable elders in long-term care settings through the creation of a comprehensive nationwide system of background checks. We will be expanding a highly successful three-year pilot program instituted in seven states that kept more than 9,500 serial predators out of the long-term care workforce.

Key provisions to help expand, train, and support the health care workforce focused on older adults. 

A provision to provide states with financial incentives and more flexible plan options for restructuring their Medicaid programs in order to provide an increasing number of beneficiaries with cost-effective home and community-based (HCBS) services.