Aging
Bipartisan Group Of Senators Concerned About Medicare Advantage Cuts
Some Democrats have now joined their Republican counterparts in asking the Obama administration to moderate scheduled Medicare Advantage payment cuts for 2015. Photo by Karl Eisenhower/KHN In a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, a bipartisan coalition of 40 senators urged the administration “to maintain payment levels that will allow […]
Medicare Data Show Wide Differences In ACOs’ Patient Care
Networks of doctors and hospitals set up under the Affordable Care Act to improve patients’ health and save money for Medicare are having varying rates of success in addressing their patients’ diabetes and heart disease, according to government data released Friday. The release is the first public numbers from Medicare of how patient care is […]
Impact Of Medicare Advantage Cuts On Seniors Sharply Disputed
Seniors enrolled in Aetna’s Medicare Advantage plan In Baltimore County, Md., saw their monthly premiums rise from $33 to $51 this year. Enrollees in HealthNow New York, a Medicare HMO in upstate Erie County, saw their premiums jump from zero to $28 a month. Those in UnitedHealthcare’s plan in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, pay $15 more […]
Obama Administration Proposes 1.9% Cut In Medicare Advantage Payments
This story was updated at 5:00 AM February 24. An Obama administration announcement about payment rates for Medicare Advantage plans in 2015 has set off a dispute about how large – or small – the changes really are. Late Friday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced proposed rates that officials said could mean payment […]
Rep. John Dingell, Long-Time Champion Of Health Legislation, Will Not Seek Re-Election
Another health care legend is retiring on Capitol Hill. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) speaks during an event marking the third anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act at the U.S. Capitol March 20, 2013 in Washington (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images). Rep. John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who was a key player […]
Lend Us Your Ears: Note Takers Help The Elderly At The Doctor
This story was produced in collaboration with It used to be difficult for Edith Couturier, an 85-year-old resident of the District of Columbia, to explain to her adult children on the West Coast all the details of her medical appointments. But now she doesn’t go alone — she takes along a volunteer “medical note taker.” […]
Administration Faces Opposition To Changes In Medicare Prescription Drug Program
This KHN story was produced in collaboration with Medicare’s prescription drug program was controversial when it arrived, but a decade later it is widely considered to be a Washington success story. Now, though, the Obama administration is proposing a series of significant changes to fix what critics say isn’t broken. Administration officials say they want […]
Three Key Changes Proposed For Medicare Part D
This KHN story was produced in collaboration with The Obama administration is proposing several changes to the Medicare drug program, also known as Part D. They range from new limits on the number of plans insurers could offer consumers to new rules about what drugs those plans must cover. The plan also would prohibit exclusion […]
L.A. County Health Officials Grilled Over Nursing Home Inspections
This KHN story was produced in collaboration with the The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously ordered an audit Tuesday of how the public health department oversees nursing homes, after a news report revealed that managers told inspectors to close cases without fully investigating them. Expressing anger and shock, the supervisors summoned Department of Public Health […]
IG Report Findings Could Strengthen Nursing Home Inspections
This KHN story was produced in collaboration with Federal efforts to strengthen inspections of the nation’s nursing homes are gaining momentum after a government probe uncovered instances of substandard care. The March 3 report by the HHS Inspector General found that an estimated one-third of residents suffered harm because of substandard care and that the chances of […]