So here's what you should know:

I'm on Medicare. What happens to my benefits?
Good news. No change in Medicare benefits, including Part D low-income premium and cost-sharing subsidies and catastrophic subsidy payments.

Will Medicare pay my doctor for my visit?
Yes, your doctor will still be paid, but not quite as much. Like all Medicare providers, doctors will take a 2 percent cut in payments. That won't please the docs, but let's hope it isn't enough to make yours — or any of them — drop Medicare patients.

Will anything happen to my Social Security payments?
No worries here either. Social Security and disability payments were exempt from the budget cuts. On the other hand, the Social Security Administration might reduce services to the public, close some offices and watch its already epic backlog of disability claims grow even bigger.

What about Medicaid and Veterans Affairs compensation payments?
The same as for Social Security — no change in benefits. That's also true for SNAP (formerly the food stamps program) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).