Health Care Reform Not a Raid on Medicare

Many Montanans on Medicare are afraid that health care reform really means a raid on Medicare. Some are contending that current health care reform proposals being debated on Capitol Hill would pay for health care on the backs of seniors through Medicare cuts. That is not the case.

AARP is monitoring this debate very carefully and is committed to ensuring that health care reform improves and strengthens Medicare.

AARP will fight with the strength of our 40 million members against any legislative proposals that unfairly harm people in Medicare.

Our job is to ensure that health reform improves Medicare, which is why we’re telling Congress any health care reform bill must include:

• Closing the Part D “doughnut hole” coverage gap and reducing drug costs;
• Protecting patient access to their doctors;
• Preventing dangerous, costly and avoidable re-hospitalizations; and
• Improving the quality of patient care.

But health care reform must also strengthen Medicare for current and future generations by cracking down on the waste, fraud and abuse that’s driving up the cost of health care and putting Medicare on less stable financial ground.

AARP has been working with Senator Baucus as well as other Members of Congress from both parties to identify common-sense solutions in Medicare and Medicaid that will help lower skyrocketing health care costs and guarantee all Americans more affordable health care choices.

We can start by cutting back on overpayments to insurance companies that insure Medicare beneficiaries at a cost of 14 percent more per patient. By changing the way we pay these plans, we can reward those that provide good patient care and reduce payments to those that don’t.

We must also end the brand name drug companies’ monopoly on life-saving biologic drugs—medicines used to treat cancer and other serious illnesses that can now cost up to $10,000 per month. Giving the FDA the authority to approve generic versions of biologic drugs would save Medicare billions of dollars and give patients the medicines they need at a price they can afford.

And, we need to identify other common-sense solutions that would save patients and Medicare money and keep people healthier. For example, we need to create a follow-up care benefit that provides better care and coordination for Medicare patients as they leave the hospital to prevent avoidable readmissions down the line.

We would like to see Congress address future workforce needs by introducing policies to promote primary care, including raising Medicare payments for primary care providers. The primary-care doctor shortage is becoming an increasingly serious problem in rural Montana.

While the full details on how health care reform will be financed remain to be seen, AARP will be vigilant in ensuring that Medicare is strengthened, and that both the costs and benefits of health reform are shared fairly by all generations.

In the coming months, AARP will continue to work to ensure that any final health reform plan protects Medicare patients’ access to their doctors, lowers prescription drug costs, and improves their quality of care.

We will also work to ensure that health reform legislation results in a better and stronger Medicare program for current and future beneficiaries.

If done correctly, health care reform will actually improve Medicare, not weaken it.