Medicare

Medicare and Medicaid pay “look-alike” health centers significantly more than hospitals for treating patients, and converting or creating clinics can help hospitals reduce their expenses.

That reduction wouldn’t result from cuts in benefits. Instead, Medicare would be empowered to leverage its market power to pay lower prices for certain drugs.

Elopements, while relatively rare, can be extremely dangerous, especially for people living with dementia. However, every instance raises concern about accountability, awareness, training and lack of "person-centered care."

The Government Accountability Office and Health and Human Services inspector general’s office say seniors enrolled in the program are suffering and taxpayers are getting bilked for billions of dollars a year.

The Biden administration is considering whether Medicaid, which pays the bills for 62% of nursing home residents, should require that most of that funding be used to provide care, rather than for maintenance, capital improvements, or profits.

CMS chief Chiquita Brooks-LaSure says the agency reserves its power to quickly institute new regulations for “absolute emergencies.” On staffing, nursing home residents might need to wait years to see any real change.

Employers are increasingly using the Advantage program as an alternative to existing retiree plan and traditional Medicare. As a result, the federal government is paying the “overwhelming majority” of medical costs, according to an industry analyst.

Among the 764 hospitals hit with a 1% reduction in payments for having high numbers of infections and avoidable complications are more than three dozen Medicare ranks among the nation's best.

The Legislature voted to add a string of opt out provisions to any COVID-19 mandates that have created confusion and uncertainty for facilities that must abide by federal rules.

TV ads and mailings targeting seniors tout Medicare Advantage plans this time of year, but millions choosing traditional Medicare make a costly and difficult decision about Medigap coverage, which gets much less attention.

The ads for supplemental Medicare Advantage plans describe vision and dental benefits, even grocery discounts and food deliveries. But look at the fine print.

The federal penalty program finishes its first decade by lowering payments to nearly half the nation’s hospitals for readmitting too many Medicare patients within a month.