Medicare/Medigap Insurance
Found 107 Articles.
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Reversing Course on Medicare Advantage Plans
Recently we reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid changed their rules on reimbursing insurers for Medicare Advantage. By tweaking the formula, they reduced planned reimbursements by about 2.3%. That didn’t last long. The CMS reversed course after a few days and apparently turned the cuts into a reimbursement increase. Though not everyone agrees […]
Why Medical Providers Hate Medicare
I hear regularly from readers that it is difficult for Medicare beneficiaries to find new doctors or make nonemergency appointments. The reason is the way Medicare treats medical providers. Doctors are part of the story. Their reimbursements have been reduced over the years, though there’s an annual budget maneuver to prevent the reimbursements from declining […]
More About Medicare and Obamacare
Full implementation still awaits the beginning of 2014, but researchers are finding clear trends in medical delivery and pricing as we prepare for Obamacare. The reports are springing up now, because we hit the third anniversary of enactment of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. A key trend identified is a medical provider shortage, especially […]
Medicare Advantage Cuts, Round Two
Members of Medicare Advantage plans can expect a new round of premium increases or reduced benefits or both. The plans are very popular with their beneficiaries, and they’ve been growing as a percentage of the Medicare population. But the current administration in Washington doesn’t like them at all. Money put into the plans was reduced […]
Get Ready for Medicare Rationing, Restrictions
Paying for medical care promises to gobble much greater shares of federal and state government budgets. Medicare will come to dominate the federal budget. But what’s the cause of the rise? Many discussions would have you believe that rising prices or high medical inflation are the cause. That would lead to a conclusion that we […]
More Changes Coming to Medicare
Medicare beneficiaries have been through a series of changes in recent years, and more changes are coming next year.The changes aren’t all positive, so they were released quietly last Friday. The good news are in the Part D Prescription Drug program. The deductible is being decreased to $310 for 2014. That’s a 4.6% decline. The […]
Expanding Medicare Coverage
Medicare coverage is about to expand, perhaps substantially, for people with chronic conditions and disabilities. The rule for a long time has been that skilled nursing and therapy services were covered by Medicare only if there was a likelihood that the care would result in a medical or functional improvement. Care that simply helped people […]
Planning for Higher Medicare Premiums
Means-testing was introduced into Medicare premiums a few years ago. Higher-income beneficiaries pay higher premiums than others. That’s going to continue and expand, regardless of who wins the election or how Medicare is reformed (or not). Most people don’t incorporate medical expense planning sufficiently in their retirement spending plans. They think their medical expense will […]
