Dispatch: Medicare option threatened
Medicare option threatened
Health-care reform package would cut money from Medicare Advantage plans
November 9, 2009
By James Nash
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A little-noticed provision in the House-passed health-care plan would strip billions of dollars out of privately run Medicare plans that emphasize wellness and are increasingly popular among retirees in Ohio and nationally.
About 504,000 Ohioans are enrolled in Medicare Advantage programs, which are run by private companies that contract with the government to offer health plans that cover traditional Medicare benefits as well as supplemental programs such as preventive care.
The plans also are offered to retirees in Ohio's three largest public pension systems: the State Teachers Retirement System, Public Employees Retirement System and School Employees Retirement System.
About 162,000 retired school and government employees are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, say officials at the Public Employees Retirement System and the School Employees Retirement System. The program is being offered to retired teachers for the first time in open enrollment now under way. House Democrats say the health-care package would save $154 billion by eliminating overpayments to private providers of Medicare Advantage plans. The plans cost significantly more per capita than traditional Medicare and do not result in better health care for retirees, the Democrats say.
U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, and many other Republicans disagree.
The health-care package narrowly passed the House Saturday night and now heads to the Senate.
Voinovich said the legislation would cut half of the benefits currently offered as part of Medicare Advantage.
"I support health-care reform that will provide quality, affordable health-care insurance for all Americans, but it should not come at the cost of limiting choice and access to physicians and health services for seniors," he said in a statement.
Democrats have acknowledged that some Medicare Advantage beneficiaries would lose some benefits, but they characterize the changes as minor, such as the loss of free gym memberships.
Medicare Advantage is not universally popular. Many of the 120,000 Public Employees Retirement System retirees who are enrolled have a "love-hate relationship" with the program, said William Winegarner, executive director of Ohio Public Employee Retirees Inc., an advocacy group for retirees.
Retirees appreciate the emphasis on preventive care, improved access to health clinics and services such as a 24-hour nurse hot line, but they don't like the extra paperwork, he said.
"We like it because there is an economy for the pension system," Winegarner said. "We don't like it because of the hassle."
None of the three state pension systems that offer Medicare Advantage has studied the impact of the federal legislation on their members. Spokesmen for each pointed out that the plans would be unchanged in 2010.
"Since the debate in Washington continues, it's not possible to say if changes would be needed in our program," said Richard Baker, a spokesman for the Public Employees Retirement System. "We're watching developments closely. Our intent is to continue providing a clinically focused health-care program to our retirees."
jnash@dispatch.com
Health-care reform package would cut money from Medicare Advantage plans
November 9, 2009
By James Nash
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A little-noticed provision in the House-passed health-care plan would strip billions of dollars out of privately run Medicare plans that emphasize wellness and are increasingly popular among retirees in Ohio and nationally.
About 504,000 Ohioans are enrolled in Medicare Advantage programs, which are run by private companies that contract with the government to offer health plans that cover traditional Medicare benefits as well as supplemental programs such as preventive care.
The plans also are offered to retirees in Ohio's three largest public pension systems: the State Teachers Retirement System, Public Employees Retirement System and School Employees Retirement System.
About 162,000 retired school and government employees are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, say officials at the Public Employees Retirement System and the School Employees Retirement System. The program is being offered to retired teachers for the first time in open enrollment now under way. House Democrats say the health-care package would save $154 billion by eliminating overpayments to private providers of Medicare Advantage plans. The plans cost significantly more per capita than traditional Medicare and do not result in better health care for retirees, the Democrats say.
U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, and many other Republicans disagree.
The health-care package narrowly passed the House Saturday night and now heads to the Senate.
Voinovich said the legislation would cut half of the benefits currently offered as part of Medicare Advantage.
"I support health-care reform that will provide quality, affordable health-care insurance for all Americans, but it should not come at the cost of limiting choice and access to physicians and health services for seniors," he said in a statement.
Democrats have acknowledged that some Medicare Advantage beneficiaries would lose some benefits, but they characterize the changes as minor, such as the loss of free gym memberships.
Medicare Advantage is not universally popular. Many of the 120,000 Public Employees Retirement System retirees who are enrolled have a "love-hate relationship" with the program, said William Winegarner, executive director of Ohio Public Employee Retirees Inc., an advocacy group for retirees.
Retirees appreciate the emphasis on preventive care, improved access to health clinics and services such as a 24-hour nurse hot line, but they don't like the extra paperwork, he said.
"We like it because there is an economy for the pension system," Winegarner said. "We don't like it because of the hassle."
None of the three state pension systems that offer Medicare Advantage has studied the impact of the federal legislation on their members. Spokesmen for each pointed out that the plans would be unchanged in 2010.
"Since the debate in Washington continues, it's not possible to say if changes would be needed in our program," said Richard Baker, a spokesman for the Public Employees Retirement System. "We're watching developments closely. Our intent is to continue providing a clinically focused health-care program to our retirees."
jnash@dispatch.com
posted by Kathie Bracy at 12:19 PM
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