Fix Health Care Policy – A weekly Update from the Health Care Initiative at The Heritage Foundation
Obamacare’s Five Most Damaging Effects on Seniors
In anticipation of the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision, it is important to remember that the constitutionality of the individual mandate isn’t the only problem with the law. Here’s a list of Obamacare’s five most destructive impacts on America’s seniors.
Less choice. Obamacare puts 15 unelected bureaucrats in charge of meeting a budget target in Medicare with its newly created Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). IPAB may be statutorily prohibited from directly rationing care, but that doesn’t mean it can’t ration indirectly by reducing provider payments for certain medical procedures, which can compromise physician autonomy in the delivery of care.
Fewer options. Obamacare delivers a strong blow to Medicare Advantage (MA), which allows seniors to receive Medicare benefits from a private health plan of their choosing. Obamacare cuts the program by $145 billion, which, according to the Medicare Actuary, will decrease enrollment by 50 percent by 2017.
Higher taxes. In 2013, two new Obamacare taxes go into effect that will likely impact seniors: the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices and the 3.8 percent tax on unearned of investment income. Not only do seniors rely heavily on medical devices, but, as Heritage expert Bob Moffit points out, “older people have larger investments than younger people, and thus high income older persons will be more heavily impacted by the new 3.8 percent Medicare tax imposed on unearned or investment income (effective 2013).”
Fewer doctors. As Moffit explains, “With the retirement of 77 million baby boomers beginning in 2011, the Medicare program will have to absorb an unprecedented demand for medical services.” Obamacare exacerbates the issue for seniors by leaving the physician payment reduction schedule on the books and introducing more cuts to provider payments, which will make it even more difficult for Medicare doctors and other providers to serve the growing Medicare population.
Less access to care. Obamacare’s irresponsible cuts to provider payments will cause 15 percent of Medicare Part A providers to become unprofitable within the next 10 years, according to the Medicare Actuary. As Medicare providers begin to operate at a loss, they will be unable to stay afloat, leaving seniors with less access to care.
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