New Health Care Law Has Positive Impact on Seniors

In case you were wondering if the new health care law (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, sometimes mockingly referred to as "Obamacare") has a positive impact on the seniors in Marple Newtown, the answer is yes.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released data showing the impact of the 50 percent "donut hole" coverage under the new law.

The best way to describe the impact of the donut hole on your senior neighbors is by example. Seniors in our community who are experiencing the onset of Alzheimer’s may receive significant relief from combination therapy involving two drugs: Namenda and Aricept. These drugs significantly slow the rate at which the disorder advances, and they help maintain the ability to perform daily activities. But the cost of these two drugs is usually over $400 per month. In most cases, seniors take additional drugs, bringing their monthly drug cost higher. Luckily, seniors receive the prescriptions under Medicare Part D, for which they pay an average premium of $30 per month and an annual deductible of about $300.

But when the senior reaches the “donut hole” after consuming drugs with a market value of $2,840, the prescription drug coverage ends. That is usually in the fall or winter.

Under the new health care law, 50 percent of the drug cost is covered in that donut hole. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported that in Pennsylvania, 67,607 seniors were helped, with more than $34 million in drug costs covered.  Your neighbor received an average of $517.45 in help with their prescription drugs, as a direct result of the new health care law.

Under the new law, by the year 2020, our senior neighbors will not have to decide between prescription drugs and heating the home in the fall and winter, and the donut hole will disappear.

I am biased toward the new law because I feel citizens of our own country should receive priority in government spending. If you have different feelings about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, please feel free to add a comment below.

The source of my information can be found here: https://www.cms.gov/NewMedia/03_partd.asp

Stay well until the next post.

—Bob Gasparro