Medicare News

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

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

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

Open enrollment for 2018 Medicare plans runs from October 15 through December 7 this year. Whether you’re signing up for the first time in a Part D drug plan or you’re switching from original Medicare to Medicare Advantage, you’ve got a lot of decisions to make over the next eight weeks. One of those decisions is what to do about