Health Reform Would Help America’s Seniors

President Barack Obama yesterday renewed his call for Congress to enact real health reform this year. I hope the members of Congress heed his challenge.

America’s seniors should hope so, too. The health care proposal under consideration would increase funding for the Medicare drug benefit, create more options for seniors who rely on home and community-based care and strengthen the safety net for those who require long-term services and supports. These initiatives would benefit seniors enormously.

Consider the Medicare drug benefit’s notorious “doughnut hole.” Today, once seniors have spent $2,830 on drugs, they’re forced to cover the full cost of their medicines until their out-of-pocket expenses have reached $4,550. This coverage gap can make prescription drugs prohibitively expensive for many seniors. For many, it means the choice between food and medicine. The health care proposal would shrink the doughnut hole.

The proposal contains numerous provisions to provide more resources for nursing homes to offer quality care, reduce rehospitalization rates, improve the health care work force and make sure Medicare beneficiaries can get the physical, occupational and speech therapy they need. The bill would also provide Medicare beneficiaries with access to a comprehensive health risk assessment and creation of a personalized prevention plan.

The health reform plan would create a voluntary public long-term-care insurance plan open to all Americans. This wouldn’t just benefit current seniors, it would help everyone who may one day need long-term services and supports, whether because of disability, chronic disease or old age.

Those who choose to participate in this new program – called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) plan – would have insurance premiums deducted from their paychecks. After contributing to the program for five years, they’d be entitled to a cash benefit of about $75 a day if they became disabled or otherwise unable to complete basic activities of daily living, like getting dressed or driving to work. This would enable CLASS beneficiaries of all ages to live productive, financially secure lives despite their physical limitations.

Such a safety net has been needed for some time. Today, Medicaid is the only option for seniors or the disabled who require long-term services and supports but can’t afford them. Even then, they must deplete their assets in order to qualify for the program. The CLASS Act provisions would eliminate the need for pointless impoverishment.

Congress has never been closer to advancing meaningful health reforms that would dramatically improve the lives of millions of Americans. On Tuesday, March 9, 2010, AAHSA is hosting a Congressional Contact Day, which will include both phone and fax campaigns. We hope you’ll mark your calendar and join us in telling Congress to pass health care reform now!