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Advance Planning For Your End-Of-Life Care
A new health benefit available to millions of Californians encourages people to discuss end-of-life care options with their doctors.
Medicare
861 - 880 of 1,583 Results
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Medical Marijuana Linked To Modest Budget Benefits For Medicare Part D, Study Finds
A Health Affairs study determines that Part D spending went down slightly on prescription drugs for which medical marijuana is viewed as a possible alternative.
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Study: Brand-Name Drugs’ High Copays Soak Medicare Part D Patients
A study in Health Affairs finds Medicare Part D beneficiaries were charged copays averaging 10.5 times more for Crestor and Nexium than generic drugs would have cost them.
By Rachel Bluth -
HHS Proposes To Streamline Medicare Appeals Process
The changes announced Tuesday seek to eliminate the backlog by 2021.
By Susan Jaffe -
Colon Cancer Screening: Five Things To Know
The U.S Preventive Services Task Force recently expanded the list of approved colorectal cancer screening tests. Here’s a primer on these various tests and how they might be covered now and in the future by health insurance.
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Senate Panel Kills Medicare Program That Offers Help On Enrollment, Billing Issues
It’s not clear yet if the full Senate or House will concur in the plan to cut funding for the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, which operates in all states and gives beneficiaries free advice on enrollment in drug and insurance plans, appealing coverage decisions and applying for financial subsidies.
By Susan Jaffe -
Advisory Panel Targets Rising Medicare Drug Costs In Its Latest Report To Congress
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission outlined a package of changes to Medicare’s drug program that could save billions of dollars.
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Medicare Releases Draft Proposal For Patient Observation Notice
Although there is widespread agreement on the need to let people know if they haven’t been admitted, the language proposed by federal officials hasn’t satisfied everyone.
By Susan Jaffe -
Medicare’s Efforts To Curb Backlog Of Appeals Not Sufficient, GAO Reports
Investigators from the GAO call for HHS to improve oversight of the Medicare appeals process and streamline it to make sure repetitive claims are handled more efficiently.
By Susan Jaffe -
HHS Announces Plans To Curtail Consumers’ Use Of Short-Term Insurance Policies
The plans, which do not qualify as coverage under the Affordable Care Act and put consumers at risk of a tax penalty, can siphon healthy people away from the online marketplaces because they are generally less expensive.
By Jordan Rau -
Study Suggests Federal Standard May Be Thwarting Some Transplant Patients
Researchers report that performance standards set by federal health officials may have led to many patients being dropped from transplant lists without improving survival rates.
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Florida Stores Help Consumers Buy Imported Drugs Despite Federal Ban
Thousands of Floridians patronize storefront businesses that help them buy cheaper drugs online from Canada and other countries, but the Food and Drug Administration calls the practice illegal and risky.
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Missouri Hospitals Seek To Focus Readmission Penalties On Patient Poverty
The Missouri Hospital Association objects to the formula for setting the federal penalties because it does not factor in the number of patients who are poor or in bad health. It is seeking to generate consumer interest in the penalties.
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Medicare’s Drug-Pricing Experiment Stirs Opposition
A proposal to change the way Medicare pays for some drugs has set off intense reaction and lobbying — all tied to a common theme: How far should the government go in setting prices for prescription drugs?
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Doctors’ House Calls Saving Money For Medicare
A pilot project in which doctors provide primary care at home for very frail Medicare beneficiaries saved $25 million in 2014, and nine of the 14 practices participating earned bonuses totaling nearly $12 million.
By Susan Jaffe -
Critics Of Medicare’s Overall Hospital Star Rating Push For Changes
Federal officials delayed the release of the ratings after the hospital industry and members of Congress objected to the formula, saying it worked against hospitals that take the patients that are the toughest to treat.
By Jordan Rau -
Five Health Issues Presidential Candidates Aren’t Talking About — But Should Be
The U.S. faces a variety of serious concerns beyond just the future of the federal health law.
By Julie Rovner -
Raising Medicare’s Eligibility Age Could Trigger Gov’t Savings, But Tally Higher Total Health Spending
A May Health Affairs study examines how Medicare’s eligibility age affects spending and prices, as well as the volume of services used by patients.
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Medicare Pays Bonuses To 231 Hospitals With Lower Quality Because Of Cheaper Costs
New research highlights the paradox in the federal program to improve hospital quality.
By Jordan Rau -
Hospital Discharge: It’s One Of The Most Dangerous Periods For Patients
Bad coordination and communication can put patients at risk as they're discharged from a hospital.
By Jordan Rau