Medicare

Health experts are warning older adults about an uptick in misleading marketing tactics that might lead some to sign up for Medicare Advantage plans that don’t cover their doctors or prescriptions and drive up their out-of-pocket costs.

Federal officials said they are penalizing 2,273 hospitals, the fewest since the fiscal year that ended in September 2014. Driving the decline was a change in the formula to compensate for the chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oklahoma-based Carter Healthcare is accused of overbilling Medicare and billing for therapy that patients didn’t need between 2014 and 2016.

Experts said the findings in a North Carolina state treasurer's report are significant because they suggest the federal government has failed to closely watch the billions of dollars in tax breaks for nonprofit hospitals.

The annual open enrollment began Saturday and runs through Dec. 7. The state offers free counseling and information through its SHINE program and local branches of the Area Agency on Aging.

Medicare can pay for some dental care if it is medically necessary to safely treat another covered medical condition, and federal officials have asked for suggestions on whether that list of conditions should be expanded.

The lawsuit was filed by Kaiser Health News three years ago to learn about vast overcharges by the popular health plans that are detailed in audits the government refused to release to the public.

The body mass index — a simple mathematical equation — is tied to a measure of obesity invented almost 200 years ago. On the downside, it can stand between patients and treatment for weight issues. It particularly mismeasures Black women and Asians.

Private Medicare Advantage health plans are increasingly ending coverage for skilled nursing or rehab services before medical providers think patients are healthy enough to go home, doctors and patient advocates say.

The rare 3% decrease in monthly premiums -- a savings of $5.20 for most -- comes after millions of beneficiaries endured a tough year of high inflation and a dramatic increase in those premiums this year.