Medicare Fiscal Cliff
While you were trying to watch the ball drop over New Years, Congress was trying to avert the Medicare fiscal cliff as well as our country's financial fiscal cliff. Late Tuesday night , the house signed off on a the Senate bill which dodged the fiscal cliff bullet In a nutshell, the agreement raised taxes on the wealthy while barely touching spending or entitlement programs.
Regarding the Medicare fiscal cliff, also known as the Doc Fix, Congress gave a short term patch which allowed this 26.5% cut to physicians to be pushed back. This physician cut has been pushed back for years and we most likely will never see these cuts put into fruition.
Medicare Fiscal Cliff
This 27% payment cut that was averted is estimated to cost 25.1 billion over 10 years according to the Congressional Budget office and the Medicare offsets and "other provisions would reduce spending by 25.7 billion over the same time period". According to Kaiser Health News, hospitals will "have to bear a major part of the financing" and they are "not happy." Hospitals will supposedly be responsible for picking up half of this $25 - $30 billion cost of stopping payment cuts for physicians.
What insurance plans protect against Medicare's woes?
Medicare has a lot of problems financially, but I think this doctor fix was a smart move. Medicare does not mean much to its beneficiaries if there are no doctors accepting Medicare. If a doctor accepts Medicare, Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans (Medigap Policies) are the most comprehensive coverage.
Medicare Supplement Insurance fills in the gaps of Medicare and provides people with financial security in knowing that their healthcare expenses will be covered. With a Plan F Medicare Supplement you should not receive any hospital/doctor bills for any service that is approved by Medicare.
Medicare Supplement Rates
If you are trying to compare Medicare Supplement Rates click here. Medicare Insurance Finders offers online comparisons in less than 2 minutes. It is a very simple process and can help you compare insurance options with over 20 carriers.
A very important thing for seniors to remember when comparing health insurance is that Medicare Advantage Plans (MA Plan) and Medicare Supplement Plans are not the same thing. MA Plans operate under a completely different chassis and can even provide drug coverage where Medicare Supplements can not.
Contact Medicare Insurance Finders for help with your insurance needs at 1-877-759-5760!
