New study finds health law will aid those close to retirement age

San Francisco Chronicle: New Federal Health Law Aids Those Close To Retiring
People ages 50 to 64 are most likely to benefit from the new federal health law because they have the highest rates of long-term unemployment among working-age adults and are more likely to have health problems that would make it tough for them to buy individual coverage, according to a report being released today (Colliver, 12/14).

CQ HealthBeat: Increasing Number Of Seniors To Face Higher Medicare Costs Because Of Health Law
The percentage of Medicare seniors who will have to pay a higher premium for Part B outpatient services will increase from about 5 percent in 2011 to 14 percent in 2019 because of changes put in place by the health care law that base beneficiaries' premiums on their incomes, according to a new analysis for the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation (Adams, 12/13).

Minnesota Public Radio: Health Care Law Offers Doughnut Hole Relief On Jan. 1
"Beginning Jan. 1, Medicare recipients in Minnesota who hit the annual gap in drug coverage known as the 'doughnut hole' will be able to buy their name-brand prescription drugs at half price. The discount drug program is the second step in the federal health care law's effort to close the Medicare Part D coverage gap entirely by 2020. It comes on the heels of $250 rebate checks those who hit the donut hole received this year" (Stawicki, 12/14).

Modern Healthcare: Reform Law Can Mean Coverage For Nearly All Uninsured Boomers, Study Says
Roughly 8.2 million of the 8.6 million uninsured between the ages of 50 to 64 will gain access to health coverage in 2014 under the health care overhaul, according to an analysis unveiled by the Commonwealth Fund (Barr, 12/14).