Pro-choice groups themselves could take the lead in offering their equivalent to Medigap Insurance for seniors.
But, Medigap providers, including AARP, are not covered by the new regulations: Why?
This supplemental insurance, often referred to as "medigap" coverage, pays for expenses that are not covered by Medicare.
Each State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) can give more information on enrolling in the Medigap plan.
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Today, in fact, millions of seniors participate in a similar model when they buy private Medicare Supplement (Medigap) insurance.
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First, ObamaCare will cripple the ability of health insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans to compete with Medigap providers.
She then mistakenly enrolled in her insurer's Medigap Plan, not realizing she also needed to enroll in Part D for prescription medication.
As a consequence, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the nearly 5 million senior citizens will be forced to switch from Medicare Advantage to Medigap plans.
Examples include health insurance premiums (Medicare, Medigap, and private), over-the-counter medications, and fees from services such as assisted living facilities, nursing homes and in-home care.
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Seniors could also contribute to such insurance the equivalent of what they are spending today for Medicare Part B premiums, Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage premiums, and Medigap premiums.
In many cases, the problems stem from hasty decisions during their initial enrollment, as well as misguided reliance on incomplete information provided by sales people touting Medigap, prescription-drug or Advantage plans.
While hospital care does carry significant copays and deductibles, the vast majority of beneficiaries (about 88 percent of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries) have supplemental coverage of some kind (mainly Medigap, retiree plans, or Medicaid) to cover hospital copayments.
Matthews says that that 97% of seniors with a prescription drug benefit get it from one of four sources: a former employer, Medicaid, Medicare-funded HMOs that are already in existence or from Medigap, a supplemental insurance policy seniors buy with their own money.
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