Aging

Cholesterol Guidelines Could Mean Statins For Half Of Adults Over 40

This story was produced in collaboration with When sweeping new advice on preventing heart attacks and strokes came out last November, it wasn’t clear how many more Americans should be taking daily statin pills to lower their risk. A new analysis provides an answer: a whole lot. Nearly 13 million more, to be precise. If the […]

Lawmakers Weigh Changes To Medicare

The House this week held a hearing on payment shifts in Medicare Advantage plans and has scheduled a vote Friday on a proposal to revamp the system for paying doctors. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro’s Jennifer Haberkorn discuss the issues.

Rep. Ryan Quizzes Sebelius On Increased Savings Estimate From IPAB

The panel hasn’t had a meeting and no one’s even been nominated for it yet, but the Obama administration’s fiscal 2015 budget request says the health law’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as IPAB, could save the government triple what officials estimated last year. On Wednesday, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.,  asked Department of Health and […]

Medicare Officials Back Away From Changes To Prescription Drug Plan

Facing heavy bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill as well as from patient groups, businesses, insurers and others, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Monday it did not plan to move ahead “at this time” with several proposed changes to the Medicare prescription drug program. The draft regulation, which had been released in January, would have wide-ranging […]

How Proposed Part D Changes Are Playing On Capitol Hill

Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are proposing to remove some drugs from Medicare’s prescription drug plans and limit how many plans insurers can offer. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and CQ Roll Call’s Emily Ethridge discuss.

Three Key Changes Proposed For Medicare Part D

Among the elements of the proposal that consumers might notice are changes in what drugs will be “protected” so that they are more readily available to seniors, how many plans are offered and what pharmacies will be offering the best deals.

Rep. John Dingell, Long-Time Champion Of Health Legislation, Will Not Seek Re-Election

Another health care legend is retiring on Capitol Hill. Rep. John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who was a key player in many health care battles in Congress, including enactment of the 2010 health care law and his push for a “Patient’s Bill of Rights” in the late 1990s and early 2000s, said Monday he […]

Bipartisan Group Of Senators Concerned About Medicare Advantage Cuts

Some Democrats have now joined their Republican counterparts in asking the Obama administration to moderate scheduled Medicare Advantage payment cuts for 2015. In a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner,  a bipartisan coalition of 40 senators urged the administration “to maintain payment  levels that will allow [Medicare Advantage] beneficiaries to […]