Both doctors and hospitals have been paid billions of dollars by Medicare to make the transition from paper to electronic health records without verifying that the new systems meet required quality standards, as reported by a federal audit recently released. (Read more: Veteran Denied Benefits) Totaling $4 billion, the funds have been distributed since 2011…
Medicare is largely, but not completely protected from the “fiscal cliff” cuts that could come at the beginning of next year. Congress and the White House are working diligently to forestall the pending budget cuts and tax increases that have brought us to the cliff’s edge. If they fail, Medicare service providers will face a…
With a toxic mix of expiring tax breaks and automatic spending reductions set to begin in January, expectations are high for President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who claim they want to avert the fiscal cliff. If republicans make concessions on taxes, Democrats and the president say they’ll move on entitlements, like…
Much uncertainty looms about the amount of taxes we’ll pay in 2014. Filers could see a major increase unless Congress and the president agree to extend tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of December. Here are the changes that appear relatively certain regardless of the action Congress takes: • The personal…
With aging comes great cost: your body slows down, your vision and hearing dwindles, and navigating through problems takes time. The multitude of choices become difficult to sift through, and when you know your days are numbered, how much time do you want to use investigating and making the right choices? This brings us to…
Not only do people with Medicare have more high quality choices but the performance of Medicare Advantage plans is also improving. HHS also released the 2013 quality ratings for Medicare health and drug plans on the web-based Medicare Plan Finder. During Medicare Open Enrollment, people with Medicare can use the star ratings to compare the…
Rosalie J. Berkowitz, 82, was denied home-health coverage by Medicare because her condition caused my multiple sclerosis was not improving. Tens of thousands of people with chronic conditions and disabilities may find it easier to qualify for Medicare coverage of potentially costly home health care, skilled nursing home stays and outpatient therapy under policy changes…
Every eight seconds, another boomer turns 65. This year alone, more than 3 billion Americans will celebrate that birthday. The Affordable Care Act will reduce fees for prescription drugs, lower the cost of private Medicare supplements and increase access to free preventive care. Some reports indicate that Medicare enrollees with high prescription drug spending will…
With some 78 million baby boomers beginning to qualify for Medicare at a rate of an estimated 10,000 every day, the federal health insurance program is at the forefront of the current presidential election, and the first debate earlier this month in Denver. But it wasn’t until the 2010 health law that the candidates addressed,…