Health Care Reform and Senior Citizens

How will the senior citizens who rely on Medicare be affected by the new health care reform bill?  All seniors in one way or another will be affected by the changes that are coming soon to the current Medicare health care system. Some may enjoy the changes to Medicare, but the majority of recipients will believe the government let them down.

Many of our senior citizens believe there will be major cutbacks in the health care services they are currently receiving. Other senior citizens believe the cost will far surpass what they can afford. Senior citizens who are enrolled with a health insurance provider that offers Medicare Advantage will definitely be disappointed.

The Medicare Advantage program is additional health insurance coverage to pay the twenty percent gap that the traditional Medicare health insurance does not pay. Those who are on a fixed income really do not have the expansion room to add on additional expenses so this will be difficult.

There will be a reduction in government subsidies to hospitals for hospital internment, home health care will be reduced by forty billion dollars, and medical health care physicians are expecting to receive an additional twenty-one percent decrease in reimbursement payments. All of these changes will become noticeable to the senior citizens over the next few years.

Many medical health care physicians have already given notification that they will no longer take on new clients in their clinics who are enrolled in the Medicare program. In Texas, all the medical health care providers have given notice they will no longer take on Medicare or Medicaid patients. Where will this leave the senior citizens living in Texas? Do they now have to drive to Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas to received medical health care?

There is no doubt that some of the overhaul changes the senior citizens are facing will be daunting and many will have to rearrange their current lifestyles to accommodate these health care changes. The health insurance providers are learning what is in this new health care bill along with all the citizenry.

Our senior citizens need to remember they are not alone with the many health care and health insurance changes. The entire country and all citizens are facing an upheaval and there are many uncertainties that have yet to unfold before this chapter of the country begins to heal. Since we still are unaware of what is coming in the future we will all have to try to wait and see.