True, false and the in-between of health reform: Medicare and seniors
Friday, April 2, 2010 at 15:12 Mr. Maven has expressed some concern that seniors, like himself, might be on the losing end of health care reform. It does look like other seniors who don’t already have a Primary Care Physician could be in a pickle. Our own doctor, a Family/Primary Care Physician here in Reno, has also expressed some concern that Medicare will cut reimbursements to the extent that he will have to limit how many senior patients he accepts in the future.
Actually, most of the changes will be in regard to Medicare Advantage Plans that many seniors - including my 92-year-old mother - participate in. I’ve been of the opinion that her Medicare Advantage Plan is simply a convenience that adds to the overall costs of administering Medicare. Without, I have to deal with a few small bills that she would go ballistic over and refuse to pay. With it, she’s happy and it saves me hearing about it all. If it saves the system money, I’m ready to let it go.
Unfortunately, Medicare reform doesn’t address the issue of getting more young doctors to go into primary care practice. This is a very real problem that we face as a country. The reform, however, does have some provisions for encouraging new docs to enter the primary care arena rather than more lucrative sub-specialties.
It’s important not to confuse a shortage of primary care docs with other needed reforms in health care overall or Medicare specifically.
In the end, however, seniors - while they won’t be making out like bandits with reform - will see some very positive changes over time, such as the close of the Medicare prescription ‘doughnut hole’. And, certainly, cracking down on Medicare fraud can also only offer positive benefits.
This is what the Kaiser Health Foundation has to say (which is also echoed by The Commonwealth Fund):
