A frugal Tennessee resident opted out of Medicare Part B, which carries $175 monthly premiums. Now her heirs face a huge bill for an air-ambulance ride.
Medicare pays hospitals about double what it pays other providers for the same services. The hospital lobby is fighting hard to make sure a switch to "site-neutral payments" doesn't become law.
Just 18 facilities were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals so far. Advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are needed to widen the reach and keep health care in rural communities.
Recently ex-President Jimmy Carter went into hospice, which often is for patients in the last stages of incurable diseases. Contrary to popular belief, starting hospice doesn't mean giving up on life.
As the period for changing health plans ends, many seniors are tuning out. They could wind up with a surprise next year: higher costs and reduced access to health care providers.
The Biden administration is cracking down on deceptive or misleading Medicare Advantage and drug plan sales tactics. And it's counting on beneficiaries to help catch offenders.
Medicare's annual open enrollment period began Oct. 15, allowing seniors to choose new plans. New rules this year are supposed to crack down on misleading marketing but buyers should still beware.
Despite at least nine lawsuits against the government, all companies whose drugs are up for Medicare price negotiation will come to the bargaining table.
If a shutdown happens, millions of federal employees will be furloughed and many others will be forced to work without pay until it ends. A handful of federal programs that people nationwide rely on everyday could also be disrupted — from dwindling funds for food assistance to potential delays in customer service for recipients of Medicare and Social Security.
Medicare and Medicaid are mandatory spending programs and that keeps them relatively safe in the early days of the shutdown, but 42% of the Department of Health's staff will be furloughed.
About 12 million Americans are known as "dual eligibles" because they need both Medicare and Medicaid. A bipartisan bill offers hope to cut through the tangle of red tape that often ensnares them.
The government will negotiate new prices for the commonly prescribed drugs, but the cuts won't take effect until 2026. In the meantime, drugmakers are fighting the negotiations with lawsuits.
Medicare was supposed to cover the entire cost of his procedure. But the anesthesia provider failed to file its claims in a timely manner and billed the patient instead.
Medicare soon will start something it hasn't done in its 58-year history: Negotiate on drug prices. On Sept. 1, Medicare will target the first 10 drugs for price negotiations.
