The new health care law, increasingly known simply as Obamacare, is hailed by supporters as a great step forward in providing access to good care to all Americans. But for a significant percentage of those citizens -- those who have spent years contributing to Medicare so they will have support in their so-called golden years -- this new brand of sweeping government health care could prove to be a bitter pill to swallow.

In fact, we already are seeing the ways that Medicare will be diminished by the new deal in health care. And given the lack of information being provided by Washington politicians and bureaucrats -- the real details and costs of Obamacare -- it could make a lot of older Americans downright sick.

First of all, there is a bit of illusion up front. The law provides for more taxpayer subsidies of the Medicare drug benefit. Looks good, until you realize that much of the financing for such “perks” eventually will evaporate when the estimated $575 billion in projected savings from Medicare starts kicking in. And there’s no provision for those savings to be rolled back into Medicare. What’s more, Medicare already is operating with an unfunded liability of $38 trillion.

Then there’s the reality that Medicare Advantage plans, which benefit almost one in four seniors now, will have enrollment slashed in half over the next decade.

Without that level of option, more will have to settle for traditional Medicare and, thus, will have fewer health care choices.

Another side effect: Many Americans who now qualify for Medicare Advantage will lose that benefit AND catastrophic protection. So that means more will be forced to buy supplemental coverage and will have added living expenses on fixed incomes.

What’s more, the numbers game adds more pressure. With the influx of all those baby boomers, the demand for health care will place an unprecedented burden on the Medicare system. Additionally, fewer people are willing to become physicians. And many of those who are practicing already are turning away Medicare patients due to the poor reimbursement levels by the federal government. And there is no provision in Obamacare to address the 2025 projected shortage of 124,000 doctors. In other words, there won’t be many docs in the boxes (or anywhere else for that matter) for not only seniors but those covered by Obamacare.

If that’s not enough, seniors are going to face higher taxes on drugs (beginning next year) and medical devices (in 2013). That’s just one more thing to chew on with your antacid tablets.

And these are just a few of the drawbacks. More undoubtedly will surface once someone decides to reveal more gory details about Obamacare.

It’s really deceptive to sell the new future of health care as rosy while robbing Peter, the Medicare patient who has paid his dues for his benefits, to pay Paul, the much younger guy who for a variety of reasons doesn’t have insurance coverage in the prime of his life.

 It's certainly enough to make you queasy. Maybe it would be wise to see a doctor to get something for that tummyache while you still can.