Health Reform Means Help for Older Americans

The truth is, health-care reform can be largely beneficial to older Americans despite the scare tactics we've all been privy to lately and the myths that are infiltrating the airwaves and the Internet.

Medicare provides health security for 44 million Americans. Health-care reform must include smart ways to lower costs and to preserve what works and fix what doesn't in a program that is literally a lifeline for millions of older Americans and their families.

Health-care reform bills being considered in Congress include separate Medicare reform provisions to protect benefits in the program -- by closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap (or "doughnut hole") for prescription drugs and by ensuring that Medicare is there for today's seniors and preserving the long-term security of the program. Let's be perfectly clear: none of the proposals would cut Medicare benefits, increase out-of-pocket costs in the program or lead to rationed care. Nothing -- not the government, not an insurance company -- will get between people and their doctors.

Another important point and one that we know is essential to the ongoing debate is choice. People want to be able to choose their care. Current Medicare reform proposals will preserve access to the doctors and hospitals you choose and assure that doctors will be paid fairly by Medicare. People on Medicare also will get improved access to preventative care such as screening for diabetes, prostate cancer and osteoporosis, including the elimination of cost-sharing out of your pocket for those services.

For those older Americans not yet eligible for Medicare, current proposals include key reforms to the insurance market that will prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to those with a pre-existing medical conditions, and will strictly limit how much more insurance companies can charge based on your age. These reforms are critical for the more than 7 million uninsured older Americans who are just praying that they become eligible for Medicare before disaster strikes.

So yes, health-care reform will help all Americans, young and old - and just as important, holding down health care costs in general, and in Medicare specifically, will put our health care system on a stronger and more sustainable financial footing for present and future generations. Savings in Medicare, such as reducing Medicare's subsidies to private insurance companies and efforts to reduce waste will save Medicare tens of billions of dollars. These savings, which will reduce both taxpayer costs and Medicare premiums, will help lower the current financial chokehold that health-care costs have on the nation's economy.

We've also got to keep plugging away to make sure any final package includes all elements that are critical to health care reform and to older Americans. These include access to cheaper versions of generic biologic drugs -- those lifesaving drugs used for cancer treatment, multiple sclerosis and other chronic illness -- and provisions for hospital follow-up care. Families, individuals and caregivers are spending entirely too much money and time trying to pay for life-saving prescription drugs or costly care due to unnecessary hospital readmissions.

AARP will continue to pay attention to the needs of the people who really need reform of our health care system and take on the special interest groups who are trying by hook or crook to stop this all-to-important progress. AARP will continue to vigorously debunk the rampant myths while at the same time fight to preserve and protect Medicare for older Americans and promote reductions in skyrocketing health care costs overall.

By Nancy LeaMond  |  August 14, 2009; 3:34 PM ET  | Category:  Health Care Reform
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Posted by: klalbert1 | August 16, 2009 8:50 PM
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