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Medicare Changes

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Submitted By caylar
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N395 Short Answer 1 – PPACA Changes for Medicare Enrollees
May 25, 2012

In 2010, “Covering Preventative Health Services” was implemented and mandated that all new insurance plans must cover preventative services at no charge by exempting these benefits from deductibles. Before this change, most preventative services had cost-sharing requirements. In 2011, these vaguely free services would be further defined and expanded for Medicare enrollees. In 2010, Medicare also began covering smoking cessation counseling services in outpatient and inpatient settings. Although Medicare enrollees were charged a copay for this service, smoking cessation counseling services began to be offered annually with no cost in 2011.
In 2011, the PPACA implemented “Improving Medicare Preventative Health Coverage,” which began to focus more on preventative services by creating a free, annual wellness visit and offering personalized prevention plan services. This wellness visit is offered to patients enrolled in Medicare Part B for one year and can be repeated annually. The available preventative services that are offered to all Medicare enrollees are the following: annual bone mass measurements (DEXA scan), annual cardiovascular disease behavioral therapy, cardiovascular screenings every five years (lipid panel), various colon cancer screenings, annual depression screening, a one-time EKG screening, annual influenza vaccine, a one-time pneumococcal vaccine, annual mammogram, two general preventative visits, and annual prostate cancer screenings. The preventative services that are offered to enrollees that are at high-risk or meet certain medical criteria are sexually transmitted infections screening and counseling including HIV screening, a one-time abdominal aortic aneurysm screening, alcohol misuse counseling, diabetes screening and self-management training, glaucoma tests,

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