Modular inequalities and inequalities for the norms of Hardy-type operators on the cone Ω of positive functions and on the cone of positive decreasing functions with common weight and common Young function in a weighted Orlicz space are considered. A reduction theorem for the norm of the Hardy operator on the cone Ω is obtained. It is shown that this norm is equivalent to the norm of a modified operator on the cone of all positive functions in the space under consideration. It is proved that the modified operator is a generalized Hardy-type operator. The equivalence of modular inequalities on the cone Ω and modified modular inequalities on the cone of all positive functions in the Orlicz space is shown. A criterion for the validity of such inequalities in general Orlicz spaces is obtained and refined for weighted Lebesgue spaces. © 2017, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.