Seniors shopping for health insurance quotes might be curious to know how health reform is going to impact senior citizens. Because health insurance reform includes many cuts to Medicare, getting good health insurance quotes might become more important than ever. Take a look at some of the changes that health care reform is going to bring so that you can make informed decisions.

First, the expanded Medicare Advantage program, which offers more benefits than regular Medicare does, is going to see $132 billion dollars in cuts by 2019. That might mean that insurance providers who partner with Medicare Advantage, such as Humana, start dropping benefits as they start to run out of money to make such things profitable.

If you are a senior citizen concerned about home health care, take note. Medicare is also dropping $40 billion from the budget for home health care by 2019. Long term care insurance might be an important supplement for you to purchase if you believe you might be needing home health care sometime in the near future. Many conditions that affect seniors, such as Alzheimer's, usually require such care, so if you know such conditions run in your family you should start planning now.

Hospitals won't escape cuts either. $20 billion in cuts will hit payments to hospitals by 2019. That means that Medicare patients will end up taking on more of the financial burdens for their medical bills. Which bills won't be paid and which will has not been fully explained.

The news isn't all bad, however. Seniors will enjoy expanded prescription drug coverage under the health reform plan. The question to come is whether or not seniors will find that coverage to be enough.

Medicare will now be overseen by an advisory board whose job is to oversee spending and to make sure Medicare doesn't spend too much, too fast. If that happens the board has to submit recommendations to the President, and those recommendations could lead to more cuts.

Likely, the ideal solution for senior citizens will be to seek out private health insurance to either cover the gaps between Medicare and the care they need or to replace Medicare altogether, so long as they have the income to do so. Seniors simply will not be able to rely on Medicare to the degree that they have enjoyed in the past. A tax-deductible medical savings account might be another option for seniors seeking protection against potential health problems. Talk to a licensed health insurance agent in order to understand all of your options, and use tools like the internet health quote sites to help you find a workable solution.