2012 Timeline
Affordable Care Act Changes in 2012
Medicare Changes
- Part D members will get discounts on their prescriptions while in the 'gap':
- 50% off brand-name drugs and
- 14% off generic drugs
- Medicare payments to a provider will be reduced when:
- A patient is treated again for the same problem
- The problem was preventable
- The Medicare Independence at Home program begins. It will study if home-based primary care services for Medicare patients with many health problems will:
- Improve their outcomes, and
- Lower costs by reducing hospital and emergency room visits.
- Medicare Advantage plans will get bonuses if they:
- Provide you with high-quality care, and
- Reduce costs.
More Access to Affordable Care
- The CLASS long-term care insurance program will begin taking enrollees. CLASS will be a voluntary, government-run program. It will provide cash benefits to enrolled adults who can no longer do daily activities like bathing or dressing themselves. To learn more click here.
- Update: The Administration has decided not to implement the CLASS program due to its inability to sustain itself. Congress is currently reviewing a bill that will remove the program from the law.
Quality Improvement
- Medicare will pay hospitals based on the quality of care they provide you.
- Accountable Care Organizations will get a bonus if:
- They provide high quality care to people with Medicare
- They save Medicare money
The bonus will be a part of the money that was saved.
- To understand and fix population health differences, health care providers will collect and report data on:
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Primary language