Should Federal Retirees Opt For Medicare?
When people retire from federal government jobs, they can keep their federal plan as primary coverage but may face penalties for late Medicare sign-ups later on.
Medicare
921-940 of 1,612 results
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Cigna Profits As Medicare Softens Penalty Policy
A new policy preserves Cigna’s access to bonuses while the insurer fixes “widespread” failures in its Medicare plans.
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Medicare To Test New Payment Approaches For Some Prescription Medications
Regulators unveiled a two-part plan that will change payments and test ways in which the Medicare Part B program can change the incentives that some policy experts say encourage doctors to choose higher-cost medications.
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Report Details Senior Health Care That Misses The Mark
New research from the Dartmouth Atlas Project identifies areas where older patients get care that doesn’t meet guidelines or their own goals.
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Medicare Plans Score Higher Ratings And Millions In Bonuses
The share of Medicare Advantage members enrolled in plans with high star ratings has almost doubled since 2013, earning bonuses for private insurers who offer them.
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Dueling Star Ratings May Confuse Some Home Health Patients
Medicare offers star ratings of agencies’ quality and of patients’ perceptions, but often they don’t match up.
By Jordan Rau -
Urban Medicare Beneficiaries May See More Drug Savings This Year
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says access to special, lower-cost pharmacies has improved for Medicare beneficiaries in urban areas.
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Insurers And Medicare Agree On Measures Tracking Doctors’ Quality
The first set of measures focus on seven types of care, including for hearts and cancer. The metrics will be integrated into formulas that determine physicians’ pay.
By Jordan Rau -
Some Dialysis Patients Give Medicare Failing Grade On Ambulance Trial
A Medicare trial aimed at averting billing fraud and waste in nonemergency ambulance service in eight states is drawing complaints from patients’ families and ambulance companies.
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Buying Supplemental Insurance Can Be Hard For Younger Medicare Beneficiaries
Congress left it to states to determine whether private Medigap plans are sold to the more than 9 million disabled people younger than 65 who qualify for Medicare. The result: rules vary across the country.
By Susan Jaffe -
Surprise! Here’s Another Bill For That ‘Paramedic Response’
California cities increasingly are billing patients for paramedic services that they say were not covered by insurers. One 85-year-old woman took on city hall.
By Anna Gorman -
Fueled By Health Law, ‘Concierge Medicine’ Reaches New Markets
Doctors, insurers and others are kick-starting experiments to broaden access to direct primary care, a service long associated with only wealthy Americans.
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Telenovelas, Spanish Website Seek To Inform Hispanics About Kidney Donations
The website Infórmate offers resources and information to help dispel cultural myths that may keep Latinos from becoming live kidney donors.
By Fran Kritz -
Feds Funding Effort To Tie Medical Services To Social Needs
The goal is to improve health and potentially reduce spending.
By Julie Rovner -
Medicare Payment Changes Lead More Men To Get Screening Colonoscopies
The health law waived Medicare’s Part B deductible and dropped the 20 percent copayment for the preventive tests.
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Baby Boomers Set Another Trend: More Golden Years In Poorer Health
Medicare faces sharp cost increases as more baby boomers reach 65, and their life expectancies grow, as well as their chronic conditions, say researchers at the University of Southern California.
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Medicare Penalizes 758 Hospitals For Safety Incidents
More than half of these hospitals were also punished last year as the government tries to leverage taxpayer money to improve the quality of care.
By Jordan Rau -
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California To Revamp Addiction Treatment For Medicaid Recipients
Through what’s known as a drug waiver, state officials will have new spending flexibility as they try to improve outcomes and reduce social and financial costs of people with substance abuse disorders.
By Anna Gorman -
Mom Left Me Money, But Does Uncle Sam Get It As Repayment For My Subsidy?
KHN’s consumer columnist answers questions about the effects a change of income can have on an individual’s subsidy for insurance premiums and dental care for Medicare beneficiaries.