Fewer Medicare-Subsidized Drug Plans Means Less Choice For Low-Income Seniors
The number of Medicare plans that cover medications with a subsidy provided for low-income beneficiaries is declining in 2016 by 20 percent.
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The number of Medicare plans that cover medications with a subsidy provided for low-income beneficiaries is declining in 2016 by 20 percent.
Enrollment for private Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans begins Oct. 15 and consumer advocates urge seniors to check out prices to find the best deals.
Many students avoid geriatrics because of the low pay and high complications, but six people over 90 offer a different perspective to help attract young doctors.
Medicare patients must be told when they're in "observation" status but not admitted in a hospital, under legislation expected to be signed into law by the president.
The proposed rules, released in advance of the White House Conference on Aging, cover wide-ranging topics, from meals to roommate selection to staff training.
Across the country, hospitals are offering seniors social activities and other benefits to help them stay healthy and out of the hospital, while also encouraging them to come back to visit.
Seniors can opt to stay in their marketplace plans when they become eligible for Medicare, but most lose their access to subsidies and failing to move into Medicare promptly results in premium penalties.
Under Medicare鈥檚 hospice benefit, patients agree to forgo curative treatment, but they can continue to receive coverage for health problems not related to their terminal illness. Federal officials suspect some of those expenses should be covered by hospice.
New federal rules requiring current information apply to insurers selling plans on healthcare.gov and the private policies that are an alternative to Medicare.
Federal officials handle most of the requests in 2014 from beneficiaries seeking a hearing before a judge and cut into the heavy backlog. But cases from hospitals, doctors and other providers are still on hold.
In 2015, some seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will be allowed to switch if they lose their doctors.
On Wednesday, Medicare officials agreed to pay for Glenda Jimmo鈥檚 home health care, reversing an earlier denial that said she didn鈥檛 qualify for coverage because she was not improving.
The landmark settlement was supposed to be a victory for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions and disabilities who had been denied coverage for skilled care because they didn鈥檛 meet 鈥渢he improvement standard鈥 鈥 meaning they were unlikely to improve. But when Glenda Jimmo was denied coverage this spring for that same reason, her lawyers filed a second lawsuit.
Among the most significant difference is that patient with their own insurance don't face the same danger of losing nursing home coverage.
The pilot projects underway at hospitals eliminate the requirement that seniors must be admitted for three days before they qualify for nursing home coverage.
A congressional panel has held its first hearing on a controversial rule that governs the admission status of Medicare patients.
Studies have found that the government often pays insurance plans and hospice organizations for the same prescriptions, so Medicare is directing insurers to confirm that prescriptions are not covered by hospice before paying for them.
The proposals by federal officials come in response to UnitedHealthcare's efforts to cancel contracts with thousands of doctors in 10 states just weeks before seniors had to enroll in plans.
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