Six Measures to Fix Health Care

Americans will no longer settle for a health care system that costs too much, wastes too much and leaves too many without care.

With a real opportunity to pass comprehensive health reform this year, AARP is stressing six specific elements that must be part of health reform, including closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap and ensuring 50- to 64-year-olds have access to affordable health care choices.

“We simply cannot fix our broken economy without fixing our broken health care system,” said Sunny Andrews, State President of AARP Nebraska. “Ensuring every American, regardless of age, has access to affordable health care choices is paramount to AARP.”

AARP’s health reform campaign is focused on meeting six critical priorities:

• Guaranteeing access to affordable coverage for Americans age 50-64;
• Closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap or “doughnut hole”;
• Creating a Medicare transition benefit to help people safely return to their homes after a hospital stay and prevent costly hospital readmissions;
• Increasing federal funding and eligibility for home and community based services through Medicaid so older Americans can remain in their homes and avoid more costly institutions as they age;
• Creating a pathway for the approval of generic versions of biologic drugs to reduce the price of these costly treatments; and
• Improving the Medicare Savings Programs and the Part D Low Income Subsidy (LIS) so more Americans can afford the health care and prescription drugs they need.

“Guaranteeing access to affordable coverage for people aged 50-64 is an essential element of reform,” Andrews said. “Among those lacking health insurance are nearly 10 percent of Nebraska residents in this age group—mostly because they cannot afford high premiums based on age and medical history, or are simply unable to find a health plan that will cover them at any price.”

As Bonnie Coffey, a 60-year-old Lincoln resident who lost her job along with her insurance explained: “We had to cash in my retirement fund from my employer to pay for outstanding bills and have two small 401 K plans that are our only retirement funds. I lose sleep at night thinking that we could be penniless if one of us ends up in the hospital with no insurance.”

To hear Bonnie Coffey’s full story, visit the AARP Nebraska community video page.

Another top health reform priority for AARP is providing Medicare beneficiaries more relief from the high cost of prescription drugs. With rising drug prices, 33 percent of Nebraskans enrolled in the Medicare Part D drug benefit have fallen into the dreaded “doughnut hole,” potentially facing thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. As part of health reform, drug companies have agreed to charge half price for brand name drugs once people enter the doughnut hole. While this is good news for beneficiaries further steps are needed to close the doughnut hole altogether.

As health care costs soar and coverage disappears, the need for bipartisan solutions to fix the system has never been more urgent. That is the message that Members of Congress should be hearing as they make their district visits over the August recess. And that is the message they should act on when they return to Washington.

Join the HealthActionNow.org movement and tell Congress that NOW is the time for health reform!