Medicare

The Government Accountability Office and the 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.

A local chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans wants Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio to support legislation that would decrease health care and prescription drug costs for seniors.

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.

The projected depletion date for Medicare’s trust fund for inpatient hospital care moved back two years to 2028 from last year’s forecast of 2026.

Colorado lawmakers approved a measure that will make it easier for people to fix their power wheelchairs when they wear out or break down, but arcane regulations and manufacturers create high hurdles for nationwide reform.

HHS Xavier Becerra said the 2022 premium should be adjusted downward, but legal and operational hurdles prevented officials from doing that in the middle of the year.

Private and public employers are increasingly using the government’s Medicare Advantage program as an alternative to their existing retiree health plan and traditional Medicare coverage. As a result, the federal government is paying the “overwhelming majority” of medical costs, according to an industry analyst.

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.

Some lawmakers worry that pushing future post office retirees' health costs to Medicare could hurt the health program's outlook.

The penalized hospitals will lose 1% of their Medicare payments for 12 months. The penalties started in October and run through September, following the federal fiscal year.