What ACA Now Means for People with Disabilities and Medicare Beneficiaries

Provisions of healthcare reform already offering more affordable coverage to Medicare beneficiaries and people with disabilities include:


· Elimination of Lifetime Limits, Regulated Annual Limits and Coverage for Young Adults - as of September 2010. These provisions were upheld. For example, many young adults (up to age 26) who were allowed onto their parents’ insurance coverage can continue with this coverage.

· Coverage of Certain Preventive Services - as of September 2010 for all new health plans; extended to Medicare plans in 2011.

· Reduction of the Medicare Prescription Drug Donut Hole - starting in 2011 until fully eliminated in 2020.

In addition to the individual mandate and expansion of Medicaid (for those states opting for expansion) that go into effect in 2014, other key provisions that will go into effect shortly include:

· Preventive Services for Medicaid. Starting in 2013, federal matching payment incentives will be provided to states that offer Medicaid coverage with no patient cost sharing for certain preventive services.

· State Exchanges. Starting in 2014, individuals and small businesses with up to 100 employees can purchase qualified coverage through state exchanges. These exchanges will have a single form for applying for health programs, including coverage through the exchanges and Medicaid and CHIP programs.

· Elimination of Annual Limits on Coverage and Guaranteed Coverage. Starting in 2014, annual limits on the dollar value of coverage will be prohibited. ACA also requires guaranteed coverage and renewability of health insurance regardless of health status. In addition, ACA allows rating variation based only on age, geographic area, family composition and tobacco use in the exchanges and the individual and the small-group insurance market.

However, not all provisions of healthcare reform will benefit all Medicare beneficiaries and people with disabilities. For example, starting in 2013, the threshold for itemized deductions for unreimbursed medical expenses increases from 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) to 10 percent of AGI. However, this is waived for individuals age 65 and older through 2016. Also in 2013, taxpayers will see increased taxes for Medicare. This includes a 0.9 percent increase in the Medicare Part A tax rate to 2.35 percent on earnings over $200,000 for individual taxpayers, and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly, and a new 3.8 percent tax on unearned income for higher-income taxpayers.

FULL STORY

While none of that really affects me right now (aside from my husband's MC tax going up on his salary), I'm happy for small changes moving in the right direction.

The reduction in the donut hole, especially, will probably affect many on MC on this board....so thanks for posting this !

sorry if I'm using the wrong word on affect/effect. My 'good grammar' sense goes right out the window with pain flares/ned usage !