Medicare Bill Helps Individuals with Mental Health Co Pays

The new Medicare bill that was just passed will help millions of individuals and the doctors who treat them.  It provides a halt to the proposed pay cut for doctors who treat individuals covered by Medicare, and it even offers a small (1.1%) raise for those doctors in 2009.

Another essential area that will be greatly assisted and made more fair and manageable is that of mental health care.  As Medicare stands now, co pays for mental health care are far greater than other medical care.  Mental health care recipients on Medicare are required to pay a 50% co pay for services which is a terrible inequity.  Basically, Medicare recipients who need mental health care in order to stay healthy are paying a penalty to get that care, which simply enhances the stigma over mental health issues in general.

The new bill, called The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Physicians Act of 2008, deals with that inequity and will reduce the co pays for mental health care.  While the co pays for other services have stayed at 20%, many seniors who are in need of mental health services have not even tried to access them because with a 50% co pay, these services are beyond what they can afford.   As a result, some of the most vulnerable citizens – our seniors – are going without essential care because of a basic and unfair flaw in the system.  In fact, due to this barrier, about half of the treatment for serious mental health issues has been given to seniors as inpatients in the hospital rather than less expensive outpatient treatment.

With the new bill this will no longer be the case.  High mental health co pays will now be phased out to bring co pays in line with the co pays for seeing a physician.  There will also be additional funds to help rural areas, community health centers and tele-health centers.

This new bill which is now a permanent act has been long overdue and has given many doctors and the seniors that are their patients many reasons for hope.  With continued payments to physicians, lowered co pays where possible for seniors and enhanced services, hopefully this is the beginning of better health for  the Medicare system and the people it serves.

Add comment

Senate Passes Bill Stopping Medicare Cuts to Doctors

There is good news today for doctors who treat Medicare recipients, and for those recipients who are their patients. 

Congress and the Bush Administration have been playing tug of war regarding proposed 10.6% cuts in payments to doctors treating patients on Medicare.  Doctors have said that they might have to stop treating these particular patients if the cuts went into effect, because it would just be too costly for them.  As Congress went into recess for the 4th of July break, it looked like those predictions would have to come true, because a block of the cut had not been achieved.

Today, however, is a different day.  The Senate voted over 2 to 1 to pass the bill which halts the cuts, giving enough time to explore the situation further and try to come up with a solution that will work for all involved. 

The bill called “The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008” not only halts these cuts to doctors, ensuring that for the next 18 months or more, patients and doctors can continue their relationships, but also institutes a small pay increase of 1.1% to doctors in 2009 and bolsters preventative and mental health care benefits, as well.

This has been a bitterly contested issue, and the House already passed the measure.  The vote on this issue is so important that Barak Obama came off the campaign trail to be present for it, and Senator Edward Kennedy, who has been very ill battling brain cancer, was also present for the vote. 

The passing of this legislation will help millions of Medicare recipients and thousands of doctors who treat them from having to eliminate their treatment.  It is essential since there are not enough doctors who treat Medicare recipients as is, and the potential loss of thousands more would leave some of the most vulnerable patients without a personal physician.

For now, at least, everyone can breath a sigh of relief.  Given enough time to work with the situation, Congress may be able to create a long-term solution to keep doctors on board and help patients keep the quality of care they need.

Add comment