Medicare Supplements Can Help With Various Therapies

MedicareSupplementPlans.com Says News Legislation Could Affect Physical, Speech Therapy Benefits for Medicare Recipients

MedicareSupplementPlans.com, one of California’s largest independent insurance agencies specializing in Medicare supplement insurance plans, says MARS Act could allow seniors on Medicare to receive certain necessary services without a cap. By removing the cap, these senior would get the services they need..

This legislation which is designed to remove Medicare’s annual benefit cap on outpatient rehabilitation services, including physical and speech therapy, could be acted on by Congress later this year.

“This is great for seniors on Medicare,” said Alan Weinstock, an insurance agent at http://www.MedicareSupplementPlans.com, who indicates that, if passed, the legislation could benefit seniors financially and improve their access to certain types of health care. This is great for seniors on Medicare

The Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services (MARS) Act is designed to ease health care costs and improve health care access for seniors confronting age-related diseases, such as heart disease, strokes, or Parkinson’s. Currently seniors receiving outpatient rehabilitation services have an annual dollar limit of $1,840.00 for care. Once the dollar amount is reached, the care stops for the remaining calendar year, although that dollar amount resets every year on January 1. MARS will repeal the cap on therapy services for Medicare beneficiaries if Congress takes action by December 31, 2009.

Proponents of the cap removal argue that the current process disrupts continuity of health care services for Medicare recipients and requires beneficiaries reaching the therapy cap to choose between stopping their necessary care or continuing with the care and paying 100 percent of the cost. The concern is that the caps can preclude seniors from getting the care they need to maintain a healthy quality of life.

With the cap removed, seniors will not have to stop getting essential services if they do not have the money to pay for them. If you have ever been in a situation where you are receiving physical therapy but have not healed all the way and had to stop the therapy, the digression can be fast, can really take a toll on the body – and mind – and the hard work done sometimes for months in order to progress, can be basically eliminated, putting the person in a position to start over again. This is costly, painful, emotionally difficult and serves no purpose. With the new act – if it is approved – there would actually be savings for everyone.

We should all keep an eye on what Congress does about this situation before December 31st to effectively deal with this situation.