Check out the March 24, 2010, NY Times for Tara Parker-Pope’s post, How Different Types of People Will Be Affected by the Health Care Overhaul, which also incorporates an amazing interactive graphic enabling people to see what changes will occur to groups of people who fit into various categories — fully insured and employed couple, disabled individual, couples or individuals using Medicare as their primary health insurance, etc. Of special interest to aging children who are helping aging parents with Medicare are the current changes for the doughnut hole between now and 2020.
- Rebate of $250 for prescription drug expenses for 2010.
- Discount of 50% on brand-name drugs beginning in 2011.
- Doughnut hole ended by 2020.
- In 2020 a couple would pay co-payments of 25% for prescription drugs, for most people significantly less than any payments they would absorb because of the doughnut hole.
As Our Parents Age So Do We 