Better care, $$$ saved, in new health care law

Retirees and boomers will benefit significantly as specific provisions of the new law come into effect. Check out these changes:

• Seniors trapped in the “doughnut hole” will get a $250 rebate this year. In 2011, their doughnut hole drugs will be discounted 50%. By 2020, the doughnut hole will be eliminated.

• In 2011, Medicare will provide free annual check-ups and eliminate co-payment for mammograms, colonoscopies and other preventive screenings.

• The new legislation enacts the CLASS Act, creating a new, voluntary, self-insured insurance program to help families pay for long-term care supports and services for a loved one.

• The Medicare Part D subsidy is expanded to help struggling low-income seniors afford their prescription drugs.

• Employer health plans that cover early retirees are subsidized, cutting costs by $1,200 per family for some plans.

• The Elder Justice Act, part of the new law, will authorize criminal background checks on long-term care workers in nursing homes; require public disclosure of nursing home ownership and quality of care; and improve residents’ complaint process.

• The law will extend the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by 9 years by eliminating unwarranted overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans and by creating incentives for coordinated high quality care.