It might only be October, but there are less than seventy-five days until the new year which also means more changes to our health care system. Previously in my blog I've discussed the changes and given you a time line of when you can expect them to take place. Below are the changes that are
scheduled for 2011:
Prescription Drug Discounts: effective January 1, 2011. Seniors who reach the coverage gap will receive a 50 percent discount when buying Medicare Part D covered brand-name prescription drugs. Over the next ten years, seniors will receive additional savings on brand-name and generic drugs until the coverage gap is closed in 2020.
Free Preventative Care for Seniors: effective January 1, 2011. The law provides certain free preventative services, such as annual wellness visits and personalized prevention plans, for seniors on Medicare.
Bringing Down Health Care Premiums: effective January 1, 2011. To ensure premium dollars are spent primarily on health care, the new law generally requires that at least 85 percent of all premium dollars collected by insurance companies for large employer plans are spent on health care services and health care quality improvement. For plans sold to individuals and small employers, at least 80 percent of the premium must be spent on benefits and quality improvement. If insurance companies do not meet these goals because their administrative costs or profits are too high, they must provide rebates to consumers.
Addressing Overpayments to Big Insurance Companies and Strengthening Medicare Advantage: effective January 1, 2011. Today, Medicare pays Medicare Advantage insurance companies over $1,000 more per person on average than is spent per person in Original Medicare. This results in increased premiums for all Medicare beneficiaries, including the 77 percent of beneficiaries who are not currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. The new law levels the playing field by gradually eliminating this discrepancy. People enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan will soon receive all guaranteed Medicare benefits, and the law provides bonus payments to Medicare Advantage plans that provide high quality care.
Learn more about improvements to Medicare. Improving Health Care Quality and Efficiency: effective no later than January 1, 2011. The law establishes a new Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation that will begin testing new ways of delivering care for patients. These new methods are expected to improve the quality of care and reduce the rate of growth in costs for Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). By January 1, 2011, HHS will submit a national strategy for quality improvement in health care, including these programs.
Improving Care for Seniors After They Leave the Hospital: effective January 1, 2011. The Community Care Transitions Program will help high-risk Medicare beneficiaries who are hospitalized avoid unnecessary readmissions by coordinating care and connecting patients to services in their communities.
New Innovations to Bring Down Costs: administrative funding becomes available October 1, 2011. The Independent Payment Advisory Board will begin operations to develop and submit proposals to Congress and the President aimed at extending the life of the Medicare Trust Fund. The Board is expected to focus on ways to target waste in the system, and recommend ways to reduce costs, improve health outcomes for patients, and expand access to high quality care.
Increasing Access to Services at Home and in the Community: effective beginning October 1, 2011. They new Community First Choice Option allows States to offer home and community based services to disabled individuals through Medicare rather than institutional care in nursing homes.
Be sure to continue tuning in to get all the new health care law updates. Remember, there are changes that will occur throughout the year 2015 and I'll be sure to keep you updated about them all.
Many of these changes happening in our health care system mean that the current nursing shortage is going to be exacerbated and more health care workers in general are going to be needed all over the country in the very near future. If you've been considering a career in nursing or health care, now is the perfect time to begin--or advance--your education. Check out
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nursing, including
LVN/LPN to RN,
RN to BS in Nursing,
MS in Nursing and more. There are other opportunities in
health care that you can also take advantage of through The College Network including
Health Care Administration,
Health Care Management,
EMT to BS in Health Science - EMS Management, and more. Learn how you can gain experience and make a difference in our country during these incredible changes in our health care system.