Understanding the ACA and What People with Medicare Will Lose If the ACA Is Repealed

In a symbolic gesture, the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in its entirety. This includes provisions that would close the doughnut hole in the Medicare prescription drug benefit, prevent insurance companies from discriminating against individuals with pre-existing conditions, and cover as many as 32 million uninsured Americans.

The Senate will not take up the repeal bill, but efforts to dismantle health reform continue.

Other benefits that people with Medicare stand to lose if the law is undermined by its opponents—by cutting off funding for implementation, for example—include free preventive services for Medicare consumers and initiatives to improve the quality and coordination of care that Medicare consumers receive. The ACA also extends the life of the Medicare trust fund for 12 years, in part by eliminating waste and creating greater efficiency in the delivery of care to people with Medicare. The law emphasizes primary care and encourages Medicare physicians and other providers to communicate with each other across settings and specialties to improve outcomes. It also aims to lower hospital readmission rates by lowering payments to facilities with high rates of rehospitalizations.

Read Medicare Rights Center’s press release on repeal of the ACA.

Take action and tell members of Congress not to undermine improvements to Medicare included in the ACA.

Read more about the discounts during the coverage gap.

Read more about free preventive services available to consumers with Original Medicare.

Read Medicare’s brochure about free preventive services for consumers with Original Medicare.

Read a timeline of implementation of the ACA, and learn more about when provisions of the law take effect.


Medicare Rights Center - Medicare Rights Center