Strengthening Medicare
Under the Affordable Care Act, the life of the Medicare Trust Fund will be extended to at least 2024 as a result of reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, and slowing cost growth in Medicare. This will provide you with future cost savings on your premiums and co-insurance.
What This Means for YouThe federal government is taking strong action to reduce payment errors, waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare. The President has made a commitment to reduce Medicare fraud 50% by 2012. The health care law makes an historic, 10-year, $350 million investment to prevent, detect, and fight fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Visit StopMedicareFraud.gov to learn more. |
- The coordination of care between doctors and the overall quality of care will improve so that you will be less likely to experience preventable and harmful re-admissions to the hospital for the same condition.
- Hospitals will have new, strong incentives to improve your quality of care.
- In 2011, if you hit the prescription drug “donut hole,” you get a 50% discount on brand-name drugs. Every year after, you will pay less for your prescription drugs in the donut hole until there’s complete coverage of the donut hole in 2020. Between now and then, you will get continuous Medicare coverage for your prescription drugs.
- Starting in 2014, the health care law offers additional protections for Medicare Advantage plan members by taking strong steps that limit the amount these plans spend on administrative costs, insurance company profits, and things other than health care.
For More Information
- Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.
- See how Medicare is improving care and lowering costs.
- Learn more about Medicare and Long-Term Care.
- Fact Sheet: Seniors and the Affordable Care Act.
- Use our interactive FAQ tool to find answers to Medicare-related questions or ask your own at answers.healthcare.gov.
Posted on: July 1, 2010
Last updated: January 24, 2012