Bills would make health care more affordable for older RIers | Opinion

Diane Santos is board chair and Maureen Maigret is policy adviser of the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island.

May is Older Americans Month, which has special importance for the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island, a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies and programs that improve the quality of life for older Rhode Islanders. One important aspect of aging well is economic security, which means having enough money to pay for basic needs including health care. According to the U.S. Census, 27% of Rhode Island older households have incomes less than $25,000 and many who are not eligible for Medicaid struggle to afford health care.

Although the vast majority of older adults have Medicare, they still have significant out-of-pocket costs. Medicare Part B premiums alone amount to $2,100 a year. Add in deductibles, co-payments and the many services not covered by Medicare (e.g. dental care, non-skilled home care and hearing aids) and average out-of-pocket costs run about $6,600, according to the AARP.

A 2022 West Health-Gallup poll found 37% of people age 65 and older were concerned they would not be able to pay for health care services and nearly two-thirds reported that health care costs were a major or minor financial burden. This leads some older adults to avoid seeking treatment due to concerns about co-payments, skip prescribed medications or cut back on basic needs to pay for health care.

More: What hundreds of pages of records reveal about nursing home resident-on-resident violence

The Senior Agenda Coalition is advocating to make health care more affordable for our lower-income older adults by expanding the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) which helps lower-income older adults and people with disabilities on Medicare pay for Medicare Part B premiums. For those with very low incomes, deductibles and co-payments are also covered. MSP is a joint federal/state program with income and resource thresholds set by the federal government.

However, states are allowed to exceed the federal limits and many states do so, including our sister New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont. Rhode Island now follows the federal income limit of 135% of the federal poverty level of $1,714/month-single person with a resource limit of $9,430-single person.

To make health care more affordable for lower-income older Rhode Islanders and enhance their economic security, Bills H7333 by Rep. Karen Alzate and S2399 by Sen. Sandra Cano were introduced in the legislature. Based on a New York law, the bills increase income eligibility to 186% of the federal poverty level ($2,354/month-single person), remove the asset limit and make more very low-income people eligible to have deductibles and co-payments covered.

More: Report shows RI reining in health care spending, but at what cost to struggling providers?

Estimates are that 17,000 older adults and people with disabilities on Medicare would benefit from passing the bills. This would save them at least $2,100 yearly in Part B premium costs. It also makes them eligible for a federal program called “Extra Help” that helps with prescription drug costs. These are dollars they can use instead to help pay for basic living expenses such as food, rent and transportation.

It is important to point out that the federal government would cover the cost of the Part B premiums for those newly eligible. This would bring an estimated $34 million into the state to bolster our economy. The Senior Agenda Coalition is joined by the Economic Progress Institute, Ocean State Center for Independent Living, Protect Our Healthcare Coalition, RI Organizing Project and RIPIN as partners advocating for passage of these bills.

As we enter Older Americans Month, we call on Governor McKee and the Rhode Island legislature to support expanding the Medicare Savings Program. Passage of these bills would be a win for thousands of low-income seniors and adults with disabilities who need and deserve our support and a huge economic win for the state.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: A poll found 37% of people age 65 and older were concerned they would not be able to pay for health care services.