In the better interest of keeping the ACA thread about ACA…it’s also open enrollment for Medicare, and supplements.
What are folks doing for 2017.
Adding the link to Ryan plan. Please note that it certainly would not be in effect for 2017 and likely not for several years after.
The Ryan plan talks about the “doc fix,” the annual rise in Medicare reimbursements that is never enough.I thought that was already dealt with.
He also talks about moving all seniors to private plans, with “premium support.” The ACA’s subsidies are dependent on region, because health care costs more in some areas than other areas. Is the Ryan plan to give seniors a fixed amount per age, or would he give me more because I live in a high cost area? He is mum about whether I’d get a bigger coupon than someone in Idaho.
No senior left behind?
One problem (among many) with health care in our country is that the kind of care many older people would most benefit from is time-heavy: appointments that are long enough so the patient can explain all his or her problems and the physician can provide guidance and give some TLC. As the system is currently set up, physicians are not rewarded for spending lots of time with each patient; instead, they are rewarded for seeing as many patients as possible.
Also, I think that “health” has to be carefully defined. At the least, it should not be equated with longevity. My ex-husband’s parents are both 90 and are in what I consider to be terrible condition but his mom, at least, might live for several more years, late-stage Alzheimer’s and all.
Will pay attention to this thread. Both of my parents are on medicare and generally look to me to keep up to date about it…
The Medicare proposals are aimed straight at the parents on this board. We’re the ones approaching Medicare. They probably won’t change things for current recipients.
It would not take place until 2024 so anyone who reaches 65 prior to that would have the option of either plan.
^ Not sure about having options for either plan. We only have Medicare Advantage because Medicare picks up the vast majority of hospital amd physician treatment. If Medicare were replaced by premium supports, I would expect the premiums would be moot because no commercial insurance company wants to insure the elderly population.
What Ryan’s plan proposes is that we take the current Medicare costs, add back in insurance company profit and overhead, subtract out government oversight and subsidies except for the premium support, and he thinks this will reduce costs? I wasn’t aware Wisconsin had legalized whatever he is smoking.
For Heaven’s sake, why do people think we started Medicare to begin with???
^ They don’t know any history.
http://kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/the-facts-on-medicare-spending-and-financing/
Current enrollees pay for 1/8 of their actual costs. Payroll taxes cover another 3/8 or so. Most of the rest is general revenue. Unsustainable.
What about those of us who will reach 65 IN 2024?
@techmom99 none of us can predict what is going to happen this year…no crystal ball for 2024!
I would not want to be the first one to jump into a new plan.
To answer the OP, I turned 65 a couple of months ago and my employee retirement health plan switched over to supplemental, which included prescriptions. I not only have monthly credits from my previous employer, but also a small reserve which together covered supplemental premiums for 2016. I recognize that I’m very lucky to have worked long enough for a decent and generous employer to qualify for these retirement health benefits.
I reviewed all the costs and for 2017, I picked a Medigap plan (one that’s local to my part of the country) rather than Advantage because I don’t want to limit my doctor choices. I selected a Part D plan after considering the actual cost of my drugs. And I can use my employee retirement credits for an HSA that can reimburses for out-of-pocket drug costs.
No one knows what if any changes will actually be made, and then no one knows what if any changes will be reversed before, say, 2024 by changes to the powers that be.
Re: #3
Seems like trying to take credit for what is already quietly happening. Look up MACRA.
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Value-Based-Programs/MACRA-MIPS-and-APMs/MACRA-MIPS-and-APMs.html
Re: “premium support” for private plans
How is that significantly different from the existing Medicare Advantage (assuming it is universal and includes guaranteed issue)? Medicare Advantage is chosen by about 31% of Medicare recipients; the other 69% choose traditional Medicare (but some of these buy supplemental private “Medigap” plans).
Traditional Medicare does have limitations in that only 72% of non-pediatrician primary care physicians accepting new patients accept new patients with traditional Medicare. However, this is likely to be less limiting than the networks of most PPO and HMO plans.
http://kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/primary-care-physicians-accepting-medicare-a-snapshot/
That’s why I scrambled to find doctors in all my necessary disciplines before I turned 65! I was all set in Chicagoland before we moved last year but had to start from scratch out here.