A question-and-answer explainer on the Affordable Care Act's 2011 coverage gap benefits: a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs, funded by manufacturers and applied automatically at the pharmacy, plus 7 percent off generics, and who qualifies for them.
Section archive
Medicare
- All desks
- Abortion
- Accutane
- Acetaminophen
- Acid Reflux
- Acidic Foods
- Acne
- Acrylamide
- Acupuncture
- Additives
- ADHD
- Adiposity
- Advisories
- Aerobic Exercise
- Aflatoxin
- Agave
- Agent Orange
- Aging
- Agriculture
- AIDS
- Air Pollution
- Airline Passengers
- Airport
- ALA
- Alcohol
- Alcoholic Beverage
- Alerts
- Allergy
- Alli
- Aloe Vera
- ALS
- Alternative Medicine
- Aluminum
- Alzheimer's
- Amalgam
- AMD
- Ampyra
- Amygdala
- Anal Cancer
- And
- Anemia
- Angiogenesis
- Animal Protein
- Animals
- Anorexia
- Anthocyanins
- Anthrax
- Anti-Angiogenesis
- Anti-Obesity
- Antibacterial
- Antibiotic
Healthcare
Some healthcare reform provisions effective Jan 1, 2011
Three provisions took effect: insurers must spend 80 percent of individual and small-group premiums, or 85 percent from large groups, on care; Medicare enrollees get a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs in the doughnut hole; and seniors get free preventive screenings.
Healthcare
Medicare Taxes not Enough for Baby Boomers' Medical Care
An AP-GfK survey found 60 percent of Americans expect Medicare payroll taxes to cover their medical care in retirement. Urban Institute economists estimate a baby-boomer couple will have paid about $114,000 in Medicare taxes but need $355,000 of care, which one calls unsustainable.
Healthcare
Obama Administration: Please don't cut Medicare payments
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Nov. 8 that the administration wants to halt a scheduled 23 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors, warning it could push physicians out of the program. Lawmakers have repeatedly delayed the cut.
Healthcare
Seniors Now Can Search for Health Insurance They Need
The federal healthcare.gov site now runs a search tool that asks your state, household situation, Medicare status, medical conditions and ability to pay, then lists matching options — private plans for individuals, families and small businesses, or public programs such as Medicaid.
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