Rep. Courtney Pushes Bill To Expand Medicare Coverage Of Nursing Home Stays
Congress may be in recess, but Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) isn’t taking a vacation just yet. He went to a New London nursing home Wednesday to drum up support for legislation that would help residents such as a 98-year-old woman whose life savings were wiped out by nursing home bills Medicare wouldn’t pay. That woman’s niece, […]
Medicare Drug Discounts At Risk If Court Strikes Health Law
The pharmaceutical industry agreed in the health debate to reduce brand-name drug costs by 50 percent for Medicare beneficiaries who reach the coverage gap known as the doughnut hole.
Study: Hospital Observation Stays Increase 25 Percent In 3 Years
The number of Medicare patients who enter the hospital for observation rose dramatically even though Medicare enrollment and hospital admissions declined slightly, according to a study by gerontologists at Brown University in Providence, R.I. The researchers analyzed medical records and hospital claims for 29 million people in traditional Medicare from 2007 to 2009. They found […]
What’s In A Name: Health Exchanges, Marketplaces … Or Swap Meets
If a Medicare staff recommendation is approved, health insurance exchanges may be up for a rebranding.
$18 For A Baby Aspirin? Hospitals Hike Costs For Everyday Drugs For Some Patients
People who are not admitted to the hospital
Medicare Combats Fraud With Billing Statements That Beneficiaries Can Understand
New consumer-friendly statements urge seniors to report suspicious charges and make it easier to appeal denials of coverage.
HHS Unveils Requirements For Consumer Insurance Labels
The rules detail standard, easy-to-understand information that insurance plans will be required to provide consumers.
Consumer Groups Ask Obama To Not Weaken Provisions For Insurance Labels
Leaders from some of the nation’s top consumer and seniors advocacy groups today urged President Barack Obama not to weaken a key consumer provision of his signature health care overhaul law. The provision requires health insurers and employers to use standardized, easy-to-understand information documents to describe health plan benefits and costs.  These forms would explain how […]
Medicare Offers Extra Enrollment Time For Seniors Who Call Today
Extra time is limited only to seniors who have had trouble signing up and contact one of several organizations that are working to help beneficiaries.
2 States Survey Nursing Home Residents To Assess Care
BOSTON – When choosing the right nursing home, most consumers lack one of the best sources of inside information about the facilities – from the residents themselves. But at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, researchers from Minnesota and Ohio explained how consumers in those states can find summaries of nursing home […]
Need For Seniors Programs Is Rising, But Funding Is Not
Money for the federal programs that millions of seniors rely on to live independently in their own homes will not rise with the growing demand, Kathy Greenlee, head of the Administration on Aging, told members of the Gerontological Society of America during its annual meeting. More than 3,800 researchers, scientists, educators and health professionals specializing in […]
Officials Looking To Cut Federal Spending Eye Medigap Policies
They argue that if policies were less generous, seniors might reduce their trips to the doctor of find cheaper care, which would save the government money.
SHIP Programs Can Help Seniors Save Money On A Medicare Drug Plan
The free counseling program is available in nearly every county. The current open enrollment season ends Dec. 7.
Shopping Tips For Medicare Drug Plans
Here are some questions SHIP officials recommend asking.
Insurance Commissioners Tell Congress Not To Change Medigap Policies
State officials sending a letter that opposes changes aimed at reducing the deficit by requiring Medicare beneficiaries to pay a higher share of the cost of their supplemental insurance.
Changes To Medigap Plans Meet Resistance
Health law proposed revisions to help save Medicare money but group of insurance experts studying the issue is raising concerns.
Health Insurers Seek Delay Of New Consumer-Friendly Coverage Forms
Shopping for health insurance next year will be easier, consumer advocates and government officials say. But the new materials are still a work in progress.
New Standardized Insurance Forms Could Make Buying Easier
The head-spinning jargon and fine print common in many health benefit materials could disappear next spring as insurers and employers adopt plain-English models required by the government.
Consumers Add Their 2 Cents To Health Law’s Plan Labels
Focus groups evaluate standardized, plain English forms that plans may have to provide customers starting next March.
HHS Scales Back Rules On Health Insurance Appeals
Administration disappoints some patient advocates with new regulations setting up review process that consumers can seek when plans deny coverage.
