The Deficit Commission plan would end first-dollar coverage for Medicare recipients

The Obama appointed Simpson-Bowles commission released a new set of proposals on Wednesday. As part of an overall plan to cut government spending, the commission proposed making changes in Medicare coverage that would mean more cost sharing for seniors.

The proposal would combine the deductibles paid for Part A coverage (hospital insurance) and Part B coverage (Medical Insurance, i.e. doctor visits). Instead of a $1,132 deductible for Part A and $162 for Part B seniors would have a single $550 deductible for hospital or doctor visit costs. This would be good for seniors that need a lot of hospital care but bad for senior that don’t need hospital visits but still see their doctor for checkups.

On top of this, the proposal would forbid Medigap insurance providers from offering seniors coverage for their first $500 and “limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $5,000 in cost-sharing." This means that $3,000 of the first $5,500 in medical expenses will have to be paid out of pocket by seniors. -- NPR