Dear Marci,
I have Medicare Part A and Part B, but I also have another health insurance policy from my current job. How does Medicare work with my other coverage, and do I need to tell my doctor if I have more than one type of insurance?
– Cole (Lafayette, CO)
Together with Medicare and Medicaid, the ACA builds health security for people of all ages. To repeal the ACA and delay a meaningful replacement would force families across the country to pay more for less. Our latest issue brief, “Paying More for Less: Affordable Care Act Repeal,” highlights the harmful consequences of repealing the ACA without an immediate replacement for people with Medicare and for many who are just shy of Medicare eligibility.
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) recently released a new report on the effects repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could have on Medicare, both for federal spending and for beneficiaries.
KFF identifies several key provisions in the ACA that have a direct impact on Medicare. These provisions include improvements to Medicare benefits, reductions to health care provider and Medicare Advantage (MA) plan payments, increased revenues for the Medicare Trust Fund, incentives to reform the way care is paid for and delivered, and more.
In January, when a new administration moves into the White House and a new Congress is gaveled into session, some lawmakers expect to radically change our health care system. The President-elect and some members of Congress have signaled their intentions to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (with no meaningful replacement), make drastic cuts to Medicaid, and alter the Medicare guarantee.
This week, the Medicare Rights Center (Medicare Rights) addressed its top administrative policy priorities in letters to President-elect Trump and Congressional leadership. Medicare Rights is a national, nonprofit organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and policy initiatives.
Dear Marci,
I’m turning 65 soon and I’m still working. Do I need to enroll in Medicare Part B when I’m first eligible, or can I delay it?
– Riley (Albany, OR)
The Medicare Rights Center is proud to announce its recent membership on the National Coalition for Health Care (NCHC). NCHC is a national, nonprofit organization with a coalition membership of over 80 organizations representing medical societies, businesses, health care providers, insurers, patient and consumer advocates, and more. Collectively, the coalition represents more than 100 million Americans.
A recent blog post on the Center on Budget Policy Priorities (CBPP) addresses a common falsehood repeated by some lawmakers about the financial footing of Medicare. Unfortunately, some members of Congress continue to claim that Medicare won’t be there for future generations because it’s going bankrupt. According to CBPP, this falsehood has been debunked before—Medicare is not running out of money.
This week, the Urban Institute (the Institute) released a brief discussing the impact of enacting the same partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) advanced by Congressional Republicans in 2016. This repeal (H.R. 3762), using the legislative reconciliation tool, was vetoed by President Obama, but it is widely believed that President-Elect Trump would be likely to sign an identical bill.
Several years ago, Republican leaders in Congress unveiled proposals to make sweeping changes to the health care system, including to Medicare. Those plans—ultimately designed to create Medicare cost savings for the federal government— include raising the age of Medicare eligibility, privatizing the Medicare program through a premium support model, increasing cost sharing for people with Medicare, and more.
After the recent election, these ideas reemerged, through comments by members of Congress and the incoming Administration. When these proposals were originally introduced, we said that they were not the right solutions, and we still believe they represent the wrong path for sustaining the future of the Medicare program.
