Update On Changes to Seniors' Healthcare

The Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 passed both Houses of Congress and is currently being reconciled by a joint committee. This has a far reaching impact on many segments of the U.S. population. the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a national program in the U.S. designed for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance. The program was created to address the growing number of children in the United States without health insurance. At its creation in 1997, SCHIP was the largest expansion of health insurance coverage for children in the United States since Medicaid began in the 1960s. In an expansion of this program, Congress has targeted ways to pay for the additional $35 billion price tag. Medicare Advantage, started as a means to reform senior healthcare not only will now be called Medicare Part C, but also will lose millions in support. Payments by CMS to insurers to administer benefits will by cut. This may result in higher premiums for seniors seeking healthcare in this form. To date, about 8.3 million seniors carry insurance through a Medicare-approved private carrier. The argument on one side is that it will adversely affect the poorest of seniors who relied on this program to keep insurance costs down. The supporters of S-CHIP expansion claim that Medicare Advantage payments to contractors is corporate welfare.

Second, increased excise taxes on tobacco are being proposed to offset the increased costs to SCHIP. Particularly, cigar smokers are going to pay much higher prices for their pasttime. You may have seen commercials advocating for the expansion of SCHIP. Commercials are now coming out to oppose Part C cuts. I don't know an easy answer, but careful evaluation must ask if one group's interests should be pited against another. I will try to continue to track this for the blog readers.