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Q. I was told that under the new health care law, people 76 and older will be denied cancer care. Is that true?
A. Not true. As best I can determine, that rumor originated from several viral e-mails and online posts. They recount convincing-sounding conversations with doctors who claim to have been briefed on a provision of the Affordable Care Act that will supposedly deny older Medicare beneficiaries treatments for serious conditions such as heart disease and cancer. Reputable fact-checking sites, such as Snopes.com and Factcheck.org, have documented that the stories are fake.
"Nothing in health care reform or in Medicare limits your care based on your age,"
says Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center, a nonprofit consumer advocacy and information group.
Far from cutting Medicare benefits, the new health care law has expanded them. Beneficiaries are now entitled to a long list of free preventive-care services that previously weren't covered. And the law is also closing the notorious "doughnut hole" in Part D drug plans.
For more information, see our Health Insurance Buying Guide as well as rankings of health insurance plans.
Got a question for me? Ask it here. Please include the state you live in.
Sources
Seniors Beware (snopes.com)
Neurological 'Death Panels'? (factcheck.org)
—Nancy Metcalf
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