Tag: medicare coverage

Biden-Harris administration calls for reduced commercial insurance drug costs

Ben Jones
Commercial Insurance - Prescription Drug Costs

This would mean changes to the way the Inflation Reduction Act affects prescription medications. The Inflation Reduction Act prescription drug law developed by the Biden administration went into effect August 16, 2022, and now the president is seeking to use it to scale back prices for commercial insurance as well. The law provides relief for people with Medicare The Inflation Reduction Act lowers prescription drug costs for people with Medicare, while solidifying this program for its users moving ahead. The portion of the law reducing the cost of prescription drugs…

Read More

Long term care insurance is expensive, but more affordable than the costs it covers

G. Turner
Long term care insurance Piggy Bank Costs

Recent predictions show that over half of older Americans will need these costly services. According to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance executive director Jesse Slome, around one in every six Americans is now older than 65 years, and the more the population ages, the shakier their financial position will be. While living longer lives is typically desirable, the cost of those years could lead to hardships. “Living a long life is something that many of us want and could get,” said Slome. “But when we live a…

Read More

Medicare Advantage health insurance plans don’t have many mental wellness services

Logan B.
Health insurance - Person seeing psychiatrist

A new study shows plan holders are struggling to find psychiatrists within their networks. New research findings are showing that people who are covered by private sector Medicare Advantage health insurance plans are struggling to find psychiatrists and other mental wellness services within their networks. As a result, people with private Medicare coverage might not be getting the care they require. Over half the counties studied by the researchers did not have a psychiatrist within a Medicare Advantage health insurance plan. That plan is the counterpart in the private sector…

Read More

Report suggests the end of the Medicare Advantage program

S.Vagus
Medicare Advantage

Government Accountability Office considers Medicare Advantage unsustainable A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, is calling for the end of the country’s Medicare Advantage initiative. The Advantage program provides expanded health care benefits to those participating. The report calls into question whether the program is financially sustainable for the country and suggests that current and future administrations should focus more on improving the benefits that are associated with the Affordable Care Act. Advantage program draining country resources The report notes that…

Read More

Premiums decrease and enrollment increases for Medicare Advantage

H. Cutner

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the part of the Medicare program that provides recipients with the ability to select their own private insurance have seen a drop in their premiums by an average of 7 percent, and there has been an increase in enrollment by 10 percent. According to Kathleen Sebelius, a Health and Human Services secretary, this has been an ongoing trend for Medicare Advantage system, which helps to work against the negative forecasts that have been made by those in opposition to the health…

Read More