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

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

On October 22, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that states would be given authority to relax some of the guidelines for insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Framed as giving states “the flexibility to lower premiums and increase choices” for consumers, it’s also a weakening of ACA regulations that are designed to keep the insurance