The Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare this past week upholding the many benefits included in the law has brought renewed attacks on the health care reform law—even though it expands insurance access and coverage for all Americans in an affordable way.
Many opponents are focusing on changes to the Medicare program that will reduce the federal deficit by more than $500 billion in the next decade, deceivingly claiming these savings come from devastating cuts to the program. Opponents of the law also misstate that seniors will be negatively affected by the changes. They conveniently leave out some important details, among them that the Affordable Care Act actually:
- Provides many preventive services and screenings for free
- Reduces prescription costs for Medicare enrollees
- Improves the care and coverage provided to senior citizens
- Extends the life of the program by keeping costs under control and paying for care more efficiently
To say the Affordable Care Act takes money away from Medicare and raises costs for seniors is grossly misleading and overly simplistic. Obamacare actually improves the program for Medicare beneficiaries.
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