HR3590 Health Care Bill & Government Health Insurance

A post on HealthCare.gov by Jonathan Blum, the Deputy Administrator and Director for the Center of Medicare at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, shares the efforts that the administration is putting towards making the Medicare program and health care coverage in general easier for seniors.

Blum shares how seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries have expressed that going through the 4,000 choices available for prescription drug plans can be daunting, especially since there are plans that offer comparable benefits. In order to address this concern, efforts are being made to eliminate duplicative plans in order to make it easier for seniors to choose a plan that is suitable for their needs.

Blum also said that “making Medicare Part D easier to use” will be one of their top priorities, citing a Commonwealth Fund report that determined that most seniors found Part D “too complicated,” an observation that may have prevented some seniors from finding the best plan for their needs.

The phase out of duplicative plans will result in the reduction of prescription drug plan choices by more than 700 plans. Despite the reduction, there will still be 3,240 Part D drug plans for beneficiaries to choose from.

Blum assures seniors that the change is seamless and will not require any action on the part of the beneficiaries; there will be no gap for seniors in terms of coverage. Should seniors feel the need to change their plans, however, they can choose to do so.

Should seniors have any questions regarding Medicare and Medicaid services, Blum encourages them to call 1-800-MEDICARE.