Obamacare will save Medicare $200 billion by 2016 [View all]

[ProSense]

Obamacare will save Medicare $200 billion by 2016

by Joan McCarter

Here's an inconvenient fact for Mitt Romney and the Republicans: Obamacare will save for $200 billion for the Medicare by 2016 and $208 billion for Medicare patients by 2020.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services actuary reports:

"We have achieved significant tangible savings that have been passed on to beneficiaries," said Jonathan Blum, director of the Center for Medicare. "There's a tremendous opportunity for even greater savings." [...]

The new numbers are based on savings so far: 32.5 million people used preventive services last year with no costs to themselves, senior citizens saved $3.2 billion for prescription drugs that fall in the "doughnut hole" in 2010 and 2011, and the government recovered $4.1 billion in 2011 in anti-fraud efforts.

CMS also projected savings based on portions of the health care law that will be enacted soon, such as penalties for hospitals for readmitting patients for the same health episode, and paying providers based on quality standards.

Here's a breakdown of savings from the actuary report.



The actual experience Medicare beneficiaries, and particularly seniors, have had with the Affordable Care Act has lessened some of the fear, and according to the March Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll, for the first time the law is seen more favorably by seniors than not.

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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/23/1084763/-Obamacare-will-save-Medicare-200-billion-by-nbsp-2016-