And the major reforms to the country’s health care system won’t take effect until 2014, barring changes in the law triggered by a pending U.S. Supreme Court review or the November election results.
But that hasn’t stopped health care reform from starting to pay some real dividends, especially for elderly Americans enrolled in Medicare.
In 2011, more than 60,000 Washington residents saved nearly $36 million on their prescription drugs, thanks to provisions in the sweeping new law.
The act provides a 50 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs and a 14 percent discount on generic drugs, up from 7 percent in 2011.
The discounts apply to people who hit the drug prescription gap in their Medicare coverage known as the donut hole.
The donut hole is the place where Medicare beneficiaries start paying their prescription drug costs without help – the costly gap between the initial coverage limit and the catastrophic coverage threshold where coverage kicks back in.
One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act is to close that gap shut between now and 2020.
In 2011, the 60,209 Washington state Medicare recipients who reached the donut hole gap saved on average nearly $598 on the cost of their prescription drugs.
A report released last week by the federal Department of Health and Human Services estimated that a typical Medicare recipient will save an average of $4,200 over the next 10 years on their prescription drug costs as the donut hole closes.
For those with multiple and expensive prescription drugs, the savings could be as much as $16,000.
While the Affordable Care Act is not a panacea for what ails the nation’s health care system, this is one example of where it is holding down health care costs to one of the nation’s most vulnerable populations.
Reducing prescription drug costs is critical for senior citizens. Federal health services officials estimate that as many as 25 percent of seniors who reach the donut hole, and have to start paying for their prescription drugs out of pocket, simply stop taking their drugs.
That’s a risky proposition that puts individuals at risk for health setbacks and even death.
The fact that the Affordable Care Act is tackling this potentially lethal problem is sound national health care policy.
