CMS: More People Using Free Preventive Benefits Provided by Affordable Care Act
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that nearly
20.5 million people with Medicare reviewed their health status at a free annual
wellness visit or received other preventive services with no deductible or cost
sharing this year. In addition, nearly 1.8 million people with Medicare have
received discounts on brand-name drugs in the Medicare Part D coverage gap,
also known as the "donut hole," between January and August of this
year. The total value of discounts to people with Medicare in the donut hole is
nearly $1 billion through August of this year, with an average savings of $530
per beneficiary.
"Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, more people with Medicare are getting
preventive services like mammograms for free," said HHS Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius. "The new health care law is also making prescription drugs more
affordable for millions of seniors and people with disabilities."
Some of the free preventive services available to people with Medicare include:
- mammograms and cervical cancer screenings
- annual wellness visit
- cholesterol and other cardiovascular screenings
- colorectal and prostate cancer screenings
"October is National Breast Cancer
Awareness month--a great time for women with Medicare to schedule a free annual
wellness visit with their doctors. At that visit, they can talk about their
personal risk for breast cancer, if they should have a mammogram, or how often
to have one," said CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD. "If you and your
doctor decide that a mammogram is in order, Medicare will cover that preventive
screening annually, free of charge. Already, more than 4 million women have
taken advantage of that benefit this year."