Simplifying Transitions to Medicare
<p>As policymakers implement the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion and insurance exchanges, they need to develop plans to help newly insured individuals make a smooth transition to Medicare when they turn 65 or become disabled, according to a <a href="/blog/2013/how-states-can-simplify-transitions-medicare-under-affordable-care-act">new blog post</a> by the Medicare Rights Center's Joe Baker and Doug Goggin-Callahan. People who become eligible for Medicare in states without a comprehensive transition plan, they say, could face gaps in coverage and avoidable out-of-pocket costs. </p><p>"State and federal agencies need to consider how Medicare's eligibility rules and enrollment systems correspond to new rules and systems developed under the reform law," write Baker and Goggin-Callahan, who recommend simplifying eligibility and enrollment across all public programs and health plans offered through state health insurance exchanges. </p>
<p>Visit the <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=0B67ACA7A5CB453CB876F3DB59E19448&_z=z">Commonwealth Fund Blog</a> for more recommendations to ensure seamless transitions to Medicare based on the new Medicare Right Center report<em> A Bridge to Health</em>. </p>