Secretary Sebelius at Orlando AARP Convention

Sebelius was here to talk about the new Affordable Care Law, to inform us regarding details, and to enlist AARP members’ support in getting the facts out in the face of the continuing huge disinformation campaign. She didn’t mention Newt Gingrich, Fox News, or the Insurance Industry’s advertising budget, but she reminded us that there is a of bullshit out there.

A copy of the Secretary’s speech will be archived on the AARP web site.

The Secretary praised AARP for its leadership on health care, its history of standing up to the insurance industry against unfair practices like carve-outs of older people, its commitment to fighting fear with facts. It’s difficult, she said, for facts to break through the noise of the 24 hour news cycle.

The Affordable Care Act was criticized for its volume. It’s understandable that the slow readers on the right scoffed at the sheer size of the bill, since it’s so full of benefits and protections…For example, and this is the short list:

• Current Medicare beneficiaries will see significant relief from drug costs
  Fifty percent decrease when you hit the donut hole. The average beneficiary will save $500 next year.
• Starting in January there will be no copays in Medicare for preventive care. In fact, smoking cessation treatment will be available even if you don’t present with incurable lung cancer. This truly is an improvement.
• Passage of affordable care act extends the life of the Medicare trust fund for 12 years.
• Pre-65 year olds are of course also protected. For older Americans, age rating and coverage denial for pre-existing conditions is eliminated.
• Medicare advantage doom sayers have been proven wrong. Cost of Medicare administration is going down. There was applause when the Secretary said this. She underscored her point by saying, “Going down is a good thing.” Who could disagree?
• The Affordable Care Law is one of the toughest anti-fraud bills in history. Anti-fraud enforcement has been tripled and will continue to be toughened.
• The law promises improved access to health care. The shortage of practitioners, addressed first by an investment in the recovery act, will be further addressed in the Affordable Care Act which provides training for an additional 16,000 providers including growing the number of geriatric specialists.
• The new law helps support independent living… Extending Medicaid allowing funding to follow the individual.
• Insurance companies won’t be able to dump kids with preexisting conditions, access for for individuals and small businesses will be very much improved by the new market regulations in 2024.

Sebelius points to Healthcare.gov, a website that can provide individualized info, all YOU need to know about YOUR health benefits and costs.

Tagged as: AARP, Orlando@50+, Sebelius