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What the Affordable Care Act means for seniors
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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

Apr 2, 2013
Listen 20:12
What the Affordable Care Act means for seniors
California is one of 15 states that will start a pilot program for seniors with both Medicare and Medi-Cal. These “dual eligibles” will be enrolled in a new managed care plan.
PANORAMA CITY, CA - JANUARY 28:  Dr. Jason Greenspan (L) and emergency room nurse Junizar Manansala care for a patient in the ER of Mission Community Hospital where doctors held a press conference outside on a class action lawsuit against the state of California by a coalition of emergency room physicians claiming that without additional funding, the entire emergency healthcare system is on the verge of collapse on January 28, 2009 in Panorama City, California. According to the coalition, the cost of providing emergency room treatment has nearly doubled over the past decade and patient load increased by more than 28 percent while Medi-Cal reimbursements have remained largely unchanged. During that time, 85 California hospitals in California have closed and an additional 55 facilities have shut down their emergency rooms.  California now reportedly ranks worst in the nation for access emergency care and last in emergency rooms per capita. California has seven emergency rooms per million people while the national average is 20 emergency rooms per million people.  (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Junizar Manansala;Jason Greenspan
What will happen under California's new pilot program for "dual eligibles," senior citizens that are under Medicare and Medical?
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David McNew/Getty Images
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California is one of 15 states that will start a pilot program for seniors with both Medicare and Medi-Cal. These “dual eligibles” will be enrolled in a new managed care plan.

Call it Obamacare, call it health care reform, call it whatever you want. The overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act just had its third birthday. Some provisions are already in place and by 2014, major parts of the law are supposed to be up and running.

Still, many people are confused as to how the law will impact them personally. Take one group for example: seniors. Reimbursement for Medicare Advantage, which provides care for seniors who opt to get their Medicare benefits through private insurance plans, was supposed to be slashed under health care reform. But the government said on April 1 that it is actually going to raise the program’s payment rate for 2014 as opposed to cutting it. California is among 15 states that will start a pilot program to enroll “dual eligibles” – seniors with both Medicare and Medi-Cal – into a managed care plan this year.

How would health care reform affect seniors? How would proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage impact seniors with Medicare? Is the “dual eligibles” program beneficial for low-income seniors?

Guests:
Gerald Kominski, Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Avik Roy, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a columnist for Forbes and National Review

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