Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Medicare's Enrollment Period Nears, Consumers Need To Assess Market Changes
The Oregonian: Medicare 2016: Myriad Choices Await New, Current Enrollees
It's that time of year, when somehow, amid an election, Halloween, Thanksgiving and holiday shopping, senior citizens are expected to evaluate, even change, their Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan. The task demands the focus and acute attention to detail of, well, a brain surgeon. ... Nationwide, the health insurance marketplace has shifted with key mergers among rivals. ... "When I'm working with my clients this time of year, I don't really expect huge changes," said Lisa Lettenmaier, an insurance broker with Health Source NW in Tigard. "What you've got to look out for is the slow creep." (Hunsberger, 10/9)
Boston Globe: Tufts Health And Steward Agreed To End Medicare Contract
Tufts Health Plan and Steward Health Care System will end their contract for Medicare patients at the end of the year, a move affecting about 10,000 people. The change applies to people who have primary care doctors in the Steward network and are covered by Tufts’s Medicare Advantage plan. They will have to choose a new doctor to stay in the Tufts plan or choose a new insurance plan if they want to keep their doctors. (Dayal McCluskey, 10/7)
And in news about one key project to reduce Medicare costs —
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mixed Results For Medicare Experiment
Health systems and physicians throughout Wisconsin and the rest of the country are proving they can lower costs while improving quality. They are in the minority, though. That’s one of the takeaways so far from Medicare’s largest experiment to change the way hospitals and doctors are paid. The experiment involves what are known as "accountable care organizations," in which health systems, hospitals and groups of physicians receive bonuses if they provide care at a lower cost while meeting basic quality measures for a set group of Medicare patients. (Boulton, 10/8)
