Medicare News

President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on August 16, 2022. The law has several provisions that aim to reduce prescription drug costs for Medicare patients. Among them are limits on price hikes for high-cost drugs and increased transparency on drug pricing. The Inflation Reduction Act includes some prescription drug provisions that will: Enable price negotiations with manufacturers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently unveiled the 2023 Star Ratings for Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans. CMS assesses private Medicare health and drug plans on a range of categories. The overall goal is to help Medicare members identify plans that perform well and to enroll in top-tier coverage. The more stars a plan

Self-Employed? Make Sure You Plan Ahead for Medicare Once you turn 65, you qualify for Medicare, a federal entitlement program that’s been around for over 50 years. While this program was created at a time when most people held traditional jobs, it’s not reserved for people whose taxes are tied to an employer. But as a self-employed person, you might

New Waivers for States Could Signal Flexible, Affordable Health Insurance Markets New Medicare Cards are Coming – Are You Ready? New Medicare cards are on their way to members right now. The new cards have been years in the making, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) started mailing them in April 2018. If you’re enrolled in Medicare in

Let’s Get Physical! PT Caps Removed for Medicare Enrollees Medicare recipients and providers received some positive news with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018: no more caps on physical therapy services. Seniors can seek the physical therapy services that they need without concern that they’ll be left holding the full bill. Considering that physical therapy can improve health outcomes and

From January 1 through February 14, Medicare Advantage members can disenroll from their MA plans. If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you might wonder why someone would want to switch to original Medicare. There are plenty of benefits to choosing a private, MA plan for your post-retirement coverage, but for some people, MA plans may actually offer too

Heading into retirement brings with it a handful of important decisions, including what to do about your health insurance. Medicare, open to seniors at age 65 and other people with certain disabilities, offers low-cost healthcare coverage to the nation’s elderly population. But within Medicare, you’ve got choices to make. The first is whether to choose original Medicare (Parts A and

President Trump swept into office on the wings of a promise not to touch Medicare and Social Security benefits. Republicans in Congress plan to make changes, though. If tax reforms are passed that increase the national debt, pundits have predicted that so-called ‘entitlement’ programs like these will go on the chopping block. This is a risky strategy for conservatives, especially

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated figures for original Medicare (Parts A and B) this week, including premium costs, deductibles and coinsurance amounts for those enrolled. New Original Medicare customers and those who aren’t receiving Social Security benefits in 2018 can expect slight increases across the board, but the biggest changes will hit Part B enrollees

How do you know which type of hospice care is the best for yourself or a loved one? The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has created a website to help you get some answers. Hospice Compare provides objective measures of each hospice agency’s services to assist with this important decision. Once you or your family member have decided