A report by the National Center for Policy Analysis suggests that changes to Medicare under the national health care reform law will result in reduced access for seniors.  The report posits that scheduled payment changes will lead to Medicare reimbursement rates lower than those of Medicaid by the end of the decade, reducing access and causing many seniors to resort to community health centers and safety net hospitals for care. 

From the report:

The National Center for Policy Analysis says the new health care law enacted last spring will be devastating for the elderly and the disabled because of draconian cuts in payments to doctors and hospitals.

Unless the law is changed by a future Congress, says the NCPA, Medicare beneficiaries will be pushed into a separate health care system and will not have the same access to care as the rest of the population. According to Professor Thomas R. Saving, a former Trustee of Medicare:

• Medicare payment rates will fall below the rates paid by Medicaid (for low-income families) by the end of this decade and will fall even further behind all other payers in succeeding decades.
• Whereas Medicaid pays about 80 percent of what private insurance pays today, the payment rates will fall to two-thirds of private payment by the end of this decade and one-half of private payment by midcentury.
• Just as Medicaid patients must often seek care at community health centers and safety net hospitals today, seniors could face similar access problems in the near future.

Full Report: How Will the Affordable Care Act Affect the Elderly and Disabled on Medicare? (PDF | 1.46 MB) 

National Center for Policy Analysis. (2010). How will the Affordable Care Act affect the elderly and disabled on Medicare?. Saving, T.