Affordable Care Act Saves Seniors $2.1 Billion in Drug Costs
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The Affordable Care Act has saved nearly 3.6 million people enrolled in Medicare $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs in 2011, finds a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the health care reform law signed by President Obama in 2010:
is already saving money for millions of Americans with Medicare. As we move forward, we will close the donut hole completely and save even more money for everyone with Medicare.
The Affordable Care Act—which Republican lawmakers are fighting to repeal—provides a 50 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs and, beginning this year, a 14 percent discount on generics. Last year, it provided a 7 percent discount on covered generic medications for people who hit the prescription drug coverage gap known as the donut hole, with more than 2.8 million beneficiaries receiving $32.1 million in savings on generics.
Overall, the 3.6 million Americans who hit the donut hole saved an average of $604 on the cost of their prescription drugs. The Affordable Care Act closes the donut hole completely by 2020.
Click here for a state-by-state look at donut hole savings figures for today’s donut and here for a fact sheet.
Affordable Care Act Helps Real People in Real Ways
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Republican presidential campaign pyrotechnics can’t hide the record of a party that has turned its back on ordinary Americans. It’s worth remembering how, a year ago, the Republican-majority House of Representatives tried to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
What would have happened if they had succeeded?
- 2.5 million young adults would have no health insurance.
- 2.65 million seniors would have paid $1.5 billion more for prescription drugs.
- 24.2 million seniors would pay for preventative services they are getting for free.
And that’s just the beginning. A short report from the White House highlights how the Affordable Care Act is making insurance more available and affordable for millions of Americans.
It’s good reading at a time when the Affordable Care Act repeal is still a GOP battle cry, with all the presidential hopefuls and most Republicans in Congress vowing to overthrow the law—and trying to scare voters in the process.
Check out the Center for American Progress’ animated video (above) explaining the benefits of reform. The video was developed by MIT economist Jon Gruber, an adviser on both the Affordable Care Act and the Massachusetts health care reform program.
New Brochure on Health Care Reform and Medicare Available
Seniors around the country who count on Medicare for their health coverage and have questions about how the new health care reform law impacts their coverage can find many of those answers in a new brochure that will be in their mailboxes soon or by downloading a copy here.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is mailing the brochure to all traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage enrollees. It assures beneficiaries that “the guaranteed benefits you currently receive will remain the same,” including choice of doctors. It outlines the key provisions and expanded benefits of the new law.
Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, writes in an introduction that the new health care reform law will
provide you and your family greater savings and increased quality health care. It will also ensure accountability throughout the health care system so that you, your family, and your doctor—not insurance companies—have greater control over your care.
Senate Health Care Bill: Moving in the Right Direction
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Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) officially released the Senate’s version of health care reform legislation, a major step toward the health care reform bill America has been waiting for. The first vote to begin debate on this historic bill could happen as soon as Saturday.
It’s an improved bill from the one passed by the Senate Finance Committee last month. It still falls short of an ideal bill but, like the one passed by the U.S. House earlier this month, it greatly increases coverage, helps make health insurance more affordable and includes a public health insurance option to compete with insurance companies.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says Reid has shown courage and leadership in bringing a good bill to the full Senate. Trumka says the bill is a step in the right direction, because it would cover 31 million people, control costs, include a public option and cut $127 billion from the deficit in the first decade. Trumka notes that unfortunately, while many of the bill’s financing mechanisms are fair, it is still partially funded through a tax on health benefits.
Here’s What Health Care Reform Means for Working Families
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| The AFL-CIO is running an ad in support of health care reform in newspapers in the Washington, D.C., area. |
Within days, the U.S. House will vote on a historic health care reform bill that will cover everyone, cut costs and protect families from insurance company abuses.
The House bill, H.R. 3962—the Affordable Health Care for America Act—has provisions that will help families now and in the long term, all while decreasing the nation’s deficit.
Although some provisions of reform will require time to implement, here are key changes that will kick in immediately, providing direct and critical relief to millions of working families:
- An immediate insurance program for high-risk uninsured people to buy into.
- Ending “rescissions”—prohibiting insurers from nullifying coverage when patients file claims.
- Ending the lifetime caps on how much care insurers will cover.
- Allowing young people to stay on their parents’ policies until age 27.
- Allowing workers who have lost coverage because they lost their job to extend COBRA coverage.
- New incentive programs to increase the number of doctors.
- Funding for community health centers.
- Reducing the “donut hole” in Medicare prescription drug coverage—which right now doesn’t cover any drug costs between $2,700 and $4,050.
- A new fund to help employers pay for coverage for early retirees.
Union Plus Launches Online Health Care Help
The just-launched Union Plus Health Care site helps union members save on health care costs and provides consumer advice for better health-related decisions.
The new Union Plus Health Care site includes:
• Updated Union Plus programs, including a free prescription card.
• Links to information for health-related financial hardship.
• Top 10 health-related websites.
• AFL-CIO health care legislative reform updates.
Here’s a look at some of the specific benefits.
You can save up to 40 percent on prescription drugs at participating pharmacies with the free Union Plus Prescription Card. Click here.
Prescription Drug Donut Hole: ‘Sweetheart Deal’ for Big Pharma
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Phil Feaster, a retired truck driver from Fort Washington, Md., is one of more than 24 million seniors in Medicare’s prescription drug program, the program that is supposed to cover most of the prescription drug expenses for participants.
But Feaster, a member of the Alliance for Retired Americas, like 3.4 million other Medicare Part D enrollees, falls into a very expensive “donut hole.”
For Feaster, it’s a $700 a month hole that he hopes will be closed by comprehensive health care reform legislation introduced today in the House of Representatives.
Speaking at a Capitol Hill press conference yesterday, Feaster said:
My generation likes to tell it like it is: The donut hole is a rip-off. You pay money, but get nothing in return. Can you imagine going to a restaurant where all they give you is an empty plate—but yet they still force you to pay for a full meal? Of course not.
