Medicare changes that can save money for seniors | Opinion
Medicare benefits can be a challenge to navigate, and unanticipated bills for services you thought were covered can cause financial strain. This has been an issue with some of the vaccinations currently recommended – while some are covered under Medicare Part B, others are covered under Part D.
This disparity has led to wide variation in deductibles, copayments, and formularies for vaccines recommended to preserve your health. This causes some individuals to forgo crucial vaccinations that could protect their health, while others proceed unaware of this difference until the bill arrives in the mail. Forgoing crucial vaccinations affects our most vulnerable population the most — our seniors.
As physicians, we know firsthand how dangerous that can be for Florida’s elders, whose weakened immune systems make them more susceptible to the worst consequences of infectious diseases.
However, there is a solution to this problem. In Congress, a bill called the Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act is gaining bipartisan support. This bill would align the rules under Parts B and D and eliminate copays for these lifesaving, recommended vaccinations.
Seniors are already pinching pennies, and simple measures such as this would allow many to obtain the vaccinations crucial to protecting their personal health and the health of their community.
In addition to better protecting our most vulnerable citizens, expanding preventive medicine in this way will also benefit our entire health care system. Allowing greater access to vaccines is cost-effective, helping to keep many people out of the hospital and avoiding the need for costly care.
Our experience with COVID-19 over the past two years reinforced that our aging 65+ population is more seriously affected by infection. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75% of people who have died from the virus in the United States have been 65 or older. That’s a rate of 1 in 100 seniors, compared to 1 in 1,400 individuals younger than 65, dying from a virus that could have been prevented, or at least lessened.
We should all encourage Congress to support the Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act as it works its way through the system.
This bill would create some much-needed changes to Medicare by increasing the access and affordability of vaccines and, in turn, save lives. Health protection is one issue we can all get behind in 2022.
Dennis Mayeaux, M.D., is a family physician/geriatrician in Milton, FL.
Maureen Padden, M.D. M.P.H., is a family physician in Pensacola, FL.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Passage of Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act is critical to seniors | Opinion
