What are Seniors Worried About?
Cuts to Medicare Advantage, Fewer Doctors, Fewer Choices
Millions of Seniors with Medicare Advantage [MA] Will Lose Their Coverage
“Over 9.9 million seniors would be restricted from choosing the plan that best suits their needs, with an estimated 8.5 million losing Medicare Advantage coverage entirely. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), MA payments would be cut by $117 billion in the Senate Finance Committee bill and by $156 billion in the House bill from 2010 to 2019.”
—James C. Capretta and Robert A. Book, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics, The Heritage Foundation, October 30, 2009.
According to Capretta and Book, the consequences of modifying Medicare Advantage are five-fold: A reduction in benefits, worse options, more financial risk, higher state and federal Medicaid costs, and higher prescription drug spending.
Fewer Doctors will accept Medicare
“Senior citizens will find it harder to find a doctor who accepts Medicare if Congress does not stop a 21.5 percent cut in payment rates, say physicians and hospitals. ‘We might as well start building bigger emergency rooms, because that’s where people will be if they don’t have access to a regular physician,’ said Micki Benz, vice president of development for Saint Mary’s Health Care. ‘In the end, people’s care will suffer, and we will all end up paying more.’”
—Monica Scott, The Grand Rapids Press, October 24, 2009
“‘It leaves the physician community in a very difficult spot,’ says Dr. James Rohack, president of the American Medical Association. If that cut goes into effect, it's basically telling doctors, ‘OK, we want you to limit access to Medicare patients,’ he says.”
—“Medicare Costs Key to Health Care Reform,” Kent Garber, US News and World Report, October 26, 2009
Fewer Doctors to Choose From
“Medicare recipients have been promised that reform will not negatively impact their current health care. The scenario described above will translate to a type of rationing of health care to seniors, as there will be waits to see fewer physicians, a lack of qualified physicians, and an increasing need for Medicare patients living in smaller communities like Vero Beach to travel elsewhere to receive quality care.”
—Dr. Charles Fischman, “Medicare Reimbursement Cut Posts Health Care Armageddon for Floridians,” TC Palm, October 25, 2009
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