Medicare

Bob Semro's piece on Medicare data and the benefit of health reforms for seniors  (Straight talk on health care reform: Latest Medicare data shows more seniors benefit from health reforms) was posted as part of Viewpoints on the Kaiser Health News website.

Bob Semro, the Bell's policy analyst on health care issues, recently presented a webinar titled "Baby Boomers, Seniors and the Long-Term Care Challenge."

The webinar was prepared for the Society of Certified Senior Associates, a national organization that educates professionals who work with seniors on a wide range of issues. The presentation explores institutional challenges facing baby boomers and seniors over the next two decades with regard to long-term care.

Bob Semro, the Bell's policy analyst on health care issues, recently conducted a webinar on how the Affordable Care Act will affect seniors.

This informative presentation was well-received, and we wanted to make it available to a wider audience. The webinar was prepared for the Society of Certified Senior Associates, a national organization that educates professionals who work with seniors on a wide range of issues.

By Amy Gillentine
Colorado Springs Business Journal

The fiscal cliff is looming larger, and the country actually might endure a series of draconian cuts and tax increases – something that was never supposed to happen.

When Congress passed a law in August 2011 requiring $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts – half from the Department of Defense – it was supposed to serve as a wake-up call for compromise to get the national debt under control.

In last night's presidential debate, both candidates traded arguments about an advisory group called the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which will be created to make recommendations about reducing the growth of Medicare spending.

The board, which would be seated in 2013, is one of a number of provisions in the Affordable Care Act designed to extend the solvency of Medicare from 2016 to 2024.

The second part of Bob Semro's interview on the Affordable Care Act and Medicare aired on KGNU Radio yesterday morning. You can stream or download the interview here. Bob's interview begins at 10:16, and runs for approximately seven minutes.

The latest debate over the Affordable Care Act is whether the new law cuts Medicare funding by more than $700 billion and then uses the money from those cuts to cover the cost of reforms that have nothing to do with American seniors. The implication is that the ACA will hurt Medicare without offering anything in return. The debate has received a great deal of attention because Medicare is a very popular program, not just with seniors but with most Americans.

A recent poll shows that a slim majority of Americans oppose the Affordable Care Act in general, but other surveys show that support grows dramatically when people learn about specific provisions of the law.

Opinions may not change overnight, but the fact is, more and more seniors are benefiting from the law. Figures released today show that thousands of seniors and disabled Americans are improving their health thanks to expanded preventive care services and saving money on prescription drug prices because of a shrinking "donut hole."

Recently, two Colorado congressmen wrote newspaper columns with nearly identical talking points that raised alarms about the future of Medicare and attacked a provision in the Affordable Care Act designed to reduce costs.

My Side column, Glenwood Springs Post Indepedent

By Bob Semro

Rep. Scott Tipton, in an April 2 My Side commentary in the Post Independent, "How I'm fighting for seniors in Washington," touted a "bold" budget plan approved by House Republicans as the blueprint for preserving "Medicare and other critical safety nets for seniors."

Bold? Irresponsible is more like it.