Your costs begin with your monthly premium. Them, depending on the plan, you will have to pay a deductible before you start receiving any benefit. Once you have paid your deductible, you will still pay a portion of your prescription. This is known as co-insurance. You will receive the benefit until you reach the initial… Read More »
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed to reduce Medicare Advantage payments by 2.3 percent for 2014. Medical costs are projected to increase by three percent during this period. This reduction is on top of the payment cuts and taxes because of the healthcare reform law. Medicare Advantage provides comprehensive medical coverage to… Read More »
The Avalere study determined that during the open enrollment period, beneficiaries sought out and and chose a low-cost Medicare prescription drug plan (PDP). The market competition that help shift enrollees to low-cost PDP’s has helped keep Medicare Part D premiums fairly stable in 2013. The Top 10 Low Cost Medicare Part D Plan Providers AARP… Read More »
You pay a premium whether you receive Part D coverage from a singke Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, a Medicare Advantage plan that includes a Prescription Drug Plan, or a Medicare Cost Plan that includes Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. This affects you even if you receive Part D coverage through your employer. This 2013 IRMAA changes… Read More »
2. They don’t accept assignment. This means they can still see Medicare patients, but the claim payments are not assigned to the provider, though the provider is still required to file the claim with Medicare. In this case the provider is allowed to charge excess charges of 15% (actually 9.25% as previously noted) above the… Read More »
VA will not supplement Medicare A and B, and relying on the VA solely will not cover your civilian medical expenses. Also relying on the VA assumes that you can control when and where you go for care when sick or injured. There are numerous Supplemental Medicare Policies offered by insurance companies that cover the… Read More »
To inform enrollment decisions and spur improvement in the Medicare Advantage marketplace, the U. S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides star ratings reflecting Medicare Advantage plan quality. A combined Part C and D overall rating was created in 2011 for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug (MAPD) plans,” according to background information in… Read More »
This facility fee is a windfall for hospitals, and it is perhaps the reason why hospitals are continually expanding their facilities. This continual expansion of facilities is one of the reasons that he United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the industrialized world, and not necessarily the best. The healthcare industry often argues for… Read More »
Former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Blinder Monday that Medicare spending will “swallow up everything” and threaten attempts at deficit control without action to curb costs. Blinder, a former Clinton White House economic adviser, said there is “no chance” to reduce the deficit unless the United States “significantly reduces healthcare spending.” He added that… Read More »
Republicans believe forcing people to buy private health insurance as the place to reduce cost. Democrats believe that the insurance fee-for-service model is at fault. For Republicans, the fix is the free market: people should buy whatever health insurance, or health care, they want and can afford. If all they can manage is cheap insurance… Read More »