Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawmakers Want To Give Medicare Beneficiaries More Time To Pick Drug Plans Following Reports Of Website Errors
The Associated Press: Senators Urge Medicare To Allow Seniors A Drug Plan Do-Over
Leading senators are urging Medicare to allow seniors concerned about their drug plan pick for next year to switch if they received inaccurate information due to changes the agency made this sign-up season. The request from 14 Democrats and one Independent comes as open enrollment for prescription drug coverage ends at midnight Saturday. Medicare hinted Friday in a statement that it will provide such second chances. But the agency said it will post details when sign-up season is over, because a policy announcement now might create confusion. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/6)
Bloomberg: Medicare Costs For Seniors Lowered In Senate Drug-Price Bill
Seniors would pay a smaller portion of their drugs’ cost and be shielded from huge one-time expenses under a new version of a Senate drug-pricing bill. The second draft of the Senate Finance Committee’s Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act lowers what Medicare beneficiaries are responsible for paying in the initial phase of their prescription plans from 25% to 20% after they’ve paid their deductibles. (Lee, 12/6)
Modern Healthcare: Senate Drug-Pricing Bill Would Halt DSH Cuts For Two Years
Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon on Friday added several measures to their drug-pricing package and plan to use the bill's savings to cancel two years of cuts to disproportionate share hospital payments, as well as fund healthcare extenders. The drug-pricing changes would reduce costs for beneficiaries who exceed their deductible but do not reach the catastrophic phase of the Medicare Part D benefit, allow Medicare beneficiaries to spread pharmacy drug costs over time, allocate discounts more evenly across drugmakers, and pass price concessions negotiated by pharmacies to consumers. (Cohrs, 12/6)
Modern Healthcare: MedPAC Thinks Hospice Payments Are Too High
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is expected to vote against a pay increase for hospice in January. Medicare hospice payments are probably too high, MedPAC's staff said at a meeting on Friday. Their research found that access to care is trending upward, while quality seems to have improved slightly. Hospices also have steady access to capital and robust Medicare margins—12.6% overall—so there's little reason to worry that beneficiaries' access to care would be hurt by financial problems anytime soon. (Brady, 12/6)
CBS News: These 3 Major Medicare Costs Will Jump In January
Health care already accounts for more than 10% of spending by senior households, on average. And 2020 brings more bad news for the pocketbooks of seniors on Original Medicare. Several premiums and deductibles for folks on the traditional, government-managed type of Medicare will increase in the new year, the federal government recently announced. What's more, these increases for 2020 will be significantly greater than they were for 2019. (Bowsher, 12/6)
