HR3590 Health Care Bill & Government Health Insurance

Senior citizens are perhaps the one group of people that is most concerned about health care, and this is true not just in the United States but in other countries as well. It is therefore appropriate that health care reform has specific provisions for senior citizens.

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, shares a tele-townhall meeting held in Wheaton, Maryland on June 8 and attended by Sebelius and President Barack Obama. During the meeting, the President and Sebelius answered questions that senior citizens may have regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and what it means to them. Another objective of the event is to clear up misconceptions about Medicare.

The President himself opened the event, where he described how the new health care reform law strengthens and renews Medicare. It was stressed that seniors will not lose guaranteed Medicare benefits, regardless of whether they are availing of Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage. Sebelius quotes the President, who gave a “promise to America’s seniors that you can live out your golden years with some basic peace of mind and health coverage that you can count on.”

In addition to the closure of the gap in Medicare Part D which we covered in previous posts, Sebelius points out that HR 3590 will be able to provide senior citizens with free preventive care services that can include cancer screenings and annual wellness visits. There will also be community health teams who will coordinate care for senior citizens who have multiple doctors as well as for seniors who are transitioning back into their communities after hospital stays.