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

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), announced in September that it would be making a slew of new data related to nursing homes available to the public for the first time. The American government wants people to have a better grasp of what nursing homes are like, how safe

November 2021 Open enrollment for Medicare is underway. This is the annual election period designed to give people with Medicare a chance to review their coverage and make changes for the upcoming year. Whether you’ve got Original Medicare, a private drug plan through Part D or a Medicare Advantage plan, this is your best (and possibly only) chance during the

October 2020 During Medicare Open Enrollment, it’s important for seniors to take the time to review their coverage for 2021. Most people don’t shop during Open Enrollment — and that’s a potentially costly mistake. In case you need a refresher, Medicare Advantage is the private portion of Medicare. Sold by individual companies, it covers all of the same benefits as

July 2020 About a third of those enrolled in Medicare have the private portion of this government-sponsored medical insurance for seniors and some people with disabilities. Called “Medicare Advantage” (or Medicare Part C), the private alternative to traditional Medicare is an increasingly popular choice among the program’s 60 million members. As of 2020, enrollment in Medicare Advantage sat at just

Originally published on homepage in 2019 Important Medicare updates for 2019 including costs, benefits, and requirements. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as of July 2017, more than 58 million Americans are enrolled in this social health insurance program. This includes people 65, disabled people under 65 and those with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s

In early April, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2019 Medicare Advantage and Part D Rate Announcement and Call Letter, announcing changes to Medicare Advantage and Part D for 2019. Some of the guidelines, such as policy changes concerning supplemental benefits, tightening of regulations concerning opioids and support for longer duration of physical therapy, will affect

What to Do When You Hate Your Medicare Plan The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projected earlier this fall that Medicare Advantage enrollment would jump to 22.6 million people in 2019, representing nearly 37 percent of the Medicare population (and an 11.5 percent bump from this year). A growing number of people are choosing the private option over traditional

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced that many Medicare Advantage recipients can expect lower premiums in 2019. Not only that, but they’ll have more options available to them when shopping for plans. Premium Decreases for Medicare Advantage 2019 CMS outlined details about 2019 Medicare Advantage premiums in a September 2018 announcement. Premiums will be at their lowest