What healthcare reform means for seniors on Medicare — Seattle Times

In Sunday’s Seattle Times health reporter Carol Ostrom explains how changes in Medicare mandated by the new health reform law will affect seniors.

“Put the word “cuts” and “Medicare” in the same sentence, and what do you get?,” Ostrom writes. “A bunch of anxious, angry older folks, who think dark thoughts and give voice to worries that don’t occur to those who haven’t walked a mile of hospital corridors in their shoes.

Ostrom considers how the law would may affect Les and Pat Gee, both in their 70s, who are worried the changes will lead to cuts in their benefits.

Ostrom writes:

That uncertainty — and worry — among seniors like Gee is understandable. Overhauling Medicare, the federal insurance plan that pays the medical bills of some 45 million Americans, most of them seniors, is a key part of remaking the national health-care system.

To provide coverage for millions of uninsured Americans of all ages, the law calls for squeezing Medicare to come up with more than half the $938 billion estimated cost of the new national health plan. Paring down Medicare is also necessary to keep the massive and financially troubled program afloat for the long haul.

While it’s hard to predict what that will mean for individual seniors, it’s likely that Les and Pat Gee will reap some benefits.

Many key aspects of Medicare’s future are still in play politically, with rules and formulas still being hashed out, including how much doctors ultimately will be reimbursed for treating Medicare patients.

Ostrom then wades into the legislation and nicely outlines how the law will likely affect seniors.

The article also provides useful links to online sources of information.

To learn more:

• Read Ostrom’s article: Seniors confront a maze of Medicare changes.

Tags: Health Insurance, Health-care Reform, Medicare

Category: Health Insurance, Healthcare Reform, Medicare, Senior Health