WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee Subcommittees on Health Care and Social Security, lauded the Medicare Trustees’ announcement that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped extend the solvency of the Medicare Part A Trust Fund an additional 13 years to 2030.   Prior to passage of the ACA, the Part A Trust Fund, which covers hospital payments, was expected to be insolvent by 2017. 

“The Affordable Care Act is doing exactly what it was intended to do for our seniors – providing them with free preventive services, saving them billions of dollars on prescription medicines, and creating a stronger, more viable Medicare program to meet their needs,” said Senator Cardin. “As access to health care for America’s seniors has improved, so has the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund. 

The Affordable Care Act contains a number of provisions that have benefited seniors, including closing the Medicare Part D “donut hole” coverage gap for prescription drugs by 2020, eliminating deductibles and co-pays for preventive care, and covering free annual wellness visits.  This year, ACA added to its benefits the creation of a pathway for the approval of generic biologic drugs to lower the cost of medications, promotion of better care after hospital discharge, development of better reporting about the quality of health care services,  and using provider payments to reward high-quality, more efficient health care.

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