Supplemental health plans for Medicare insurance beneficiaries may soon be facing cutbacks as a result of the major reductions being made in the budget as a result of the special U.S. Congress deficit reduction panel. Medigap insurance plans provide additional coverage for many elderly people who have Medicare. These are individuals often live on fixed incomes. They rely on Medigap to protect them from the many deductibles and expenses for which Medicare does not provide coverage. A lobbyist that has been keeping track of the latest “super committee” developments explained…
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Prosecutions for healthcare fraud increase by 85 percent since 2010
Recently released federal statistics have shown that national healthcare fraud prosecutions have increased by 85 percent since the end of 2010, partially as a result to stepped-up efforts to enforce fraud laws under the Obama administration. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a non-partisan group, released the statistics which show that there have been 903 prosecutions in 2011 so far. That number is 24 percent higher than the total for all of 2010, when there were 731 healthcare fraud prosecutions through various federal agencies nationwide. Furthermore, TRAC statistics have shown…
Read MoreMedicare regulations may be causing shortage of cancer drugs
A month’s long shortage of cancer drugs may be the result of Medicare regulations. For several years, Medicare has provided coverage for cancer patients, allowing them to obtain treatments that they would otherwise have no access to. While Medicare offers this coverage, however, the number of cancer fighting drugs has been falling steadily. The phenomenon may be the result of a regulation within the Medicare system that dictates that doctors must purchase cancer drugs, not patients. Traditionally, patients have been responsible for purchasing their own medications as prescribed to them…
Read MoreBlue Cross Insurers look to expand into the Medicaid market
Independence Blue Cross, one of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s largest health insurance companies, is looking to expand into the Medicaid market. The company has been spending millions of dollars in the effort to carve out a larger share of the market. The Medicaid market has become a popular target for health insurers looking to offer affordable coverage to those that have fallen on hard economic times. Independence Blue Cross already holds a prominent place in this particular market, but is looking to further its hold as the market grows more lucrative. Michigan’s…
Read MoreHealthcare spending cuts will be expensive to seniors
The recent budget deal and struggles in negotiations over the national debt have handed lawmakers yet another requirement to further slash federal spending, and healthcare price controls are one of the plans being considered to help achieve that goal; forcing seniors to have to pay more for their necessary medications. These Medicare Part D program prescription drug price controls aren’t a new idea, but they have been brought back into the spotlight by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif) and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who are the most recent to advocate the…
Read MoreMedicare costs return to spotlight following deficit debate
Controversial proposals regarding Medicare expenses have moved back into the forefront of discussions as a result of the federal deficit debates, leading many to voice concerns regarding the increase of hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars to the medical bills of seniors. It has not yet been determined whether any of these new proposals will be enacted in 2011, considering the current impasse faced by the government regarding its spending. The Republicans are currently demanding these proposals so that trillions can be hacked from the federal budget. However,…
Read MoreJudges uneasy with individual health insurance requirement law
Three judges from a federal appeals court have questioned the element of President Obama’s health care changes that would require almost every American to obtain health insurance in order to avoid penalties. At hearing held on June 8, 2011, three 11th Circuit Court of Appeals judges in Atlanta who had been on a panel debating whether keeping the new health care law should lead to the adoption of other wide reaching economic mandates by Congress, expressed concerns about the new requirements. The ruling on a lawsuit filed by 26 states…
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