SILVER SPRING, MD – Vice President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have released “Health Insurance Reform and Medicare: Making Medicare Stronger for America’s Seniors.”

The report was released at a town hall meeting with seniors Wednesday in Silver Spring, Md.

“We will protect seniors – not burden them with out-of-pocket costs,” said Biden. “The bottom line is, seniors will be better off under what we are proposing, and not a dollar from the Medicare trust fund will be used to pay for health insurance reform.”

The report, authored by HHS, outlines how health insurance reform will help seniors and answers key questions about President Barack Obama’s health insurance reform plan.

“Under health insurance reform, seniors will get better care and their healthcare costs will go down,” said Sebelius. “Reform will strengthen Medicare, cut drug costs and help ensure all seniors get the high-quality, affordable care they deserve.”

Highlights of the report include:

• According to the Medicare Trustees 2009 report, the Medicare Part A Trust Fund will be exhausted by 2017. Health insurance reform will extend the life of the fund by four to five years, and delivery system reforms included in health insurance reform have the potential to keep the fund solvent even longer.
• Prescription drug costs represent a significant expense for seniors. While Medicare added a prescription drug benefit, it includes a coverage gap commonly called the “donut hole.” In 2007, more than 8 million seniors hit the “donut hole.” For those who are not low-income or have not purchased other coverage, average drug costs in this coverage gap are $340 per month, or $4,080 per year. Health insurance reform would close the coverage gap in Medicare Part D over time, so seniors don't have to worry about losing coverage for their drug costs.
• Many seniors don't receive recommended preventive and primary care, leading to less effective and more expensive treatments. For example, 20 percent of women aged 50 and over didn't receive a mammogram in the past two years, and 38 percent of adults aged 50 and over have never had a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. Seniors in Medicare must pay 20 percent of the cost of many preventive services. Under health insurance reform, a senior would not pay for a screening colonoscopy or other preventive services. Reform would eliminate deductibles, co-payments or other cost-sharing for obtaining preventive services.
• The federal government pays private insurance companies on average 14 percent more for providing coverage to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries than it would pay for the same beneficiary in the traditional Medicare program. There is no evidence that this extra payment leads to better quality for Medicare beneficiaries, and all Medicare beneficiaries pay the price of these overpayments through higher premiums – even the 78 percent of seniors who are not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. Health insurance reform would eliminate excessive government subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans, which could save the federal government, taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries more than $100 billion over the next 10 years.