Tag: Medicare

Health care giants improperly denied Medicare benefits

May 11, 2022 Sharika Soukup

The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement. The health care companies offering Medicare Advantage plans improperly denied services and payments at what might seem an alarming rate during a one-week test period in 2019, according to a government report released last week. The…

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Medical insurance still costs too much. ‘Medicare for All’ can fix this crisis. | Opinion

May 7, 2022 Sharika Soukup

By Brady Rivera We’ve heard this line before — our medical system, as it currently stands, is very unreliable and expensive for the average person. You pay thousands to for-profit insurance companies, and you still have to pay hundreds out-of-pocket for medications and services not covered by our plans. With so much money coming out…

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Medicare Advantage plans at times deny seniors access to medical care, federal watchdog finds

May 1, 2022 Sharika Soukup

The report from the inspector general’s office of the Department of Health and Human Services is the latest red flag related to inappropriate denials by Medicare Advantage plans, which are run by private health care insurers. Annual federal audits have highlighted “widespread and persistent problems related to inappropriate denials of services and payment,” the office…

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Postal service reform bill would shift retirees health care costs to Medicare : Shots

April 6, 2022 Sharika Soukup

A US Postal service employee unloads mail at a facility on February 10, 2022 in Houston, Texas. On February 8, the House of Representatives passed the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 (H.R. 3076). The legislation will address operational and financial issues that the agency has been grappling with for years. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide…

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Health Care Paradox: Medicare Penalizes Dozens of Hospitals It Also Gives Five Stars

February 9, 2022 Sharika Soukup

Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News The federal government has penalized 764 hospitals — including more than three dozen it simultaneously rates as among the best in the country — for having the highest numbers of patient infections and potentially avoidable complications. The penalties — a 1% reduction in Medicare payments over 12 months — are…

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Coordinating your health plan with Medicare: Does it work for you?

November 21, 2021 Sharika Soukup

Many of the 4-plus million people enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program are either retired civil servants, or the spouses or survivor annuitants of a former fed. Thanks to the federal benefits program, many retirees are at least as comfortable and financially secure as their private sector counterparts. But many aren’t, and…

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Insurance Companies Are Trying Desperately to Stop Medicare Expansion in the Budget Reconciliation

October 27, 2021 Sharika Soukup

As Medicare Advantage continues to drive profits for the nation’s major health insurance companies, the industry is lobbying against a provision in the reconciliation bill that could save the government nearly $150 billion over the next decade on a much-needed expansion of the country’s Medicare program and prevent even more money from being funneled to…

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How to avoid mistakes switching to Medicare from exchange health plan

September 14, 2021 Sharika Soukup

Prostock-Studio | iStock | Getty Images If you get your health insurance through the public marketplace and are nearing age 65, don’t forget about Medicare. The general rule is that you must enroll when you reach that age unless you have qualifying coverage elsewhere — and plans through the exchanges (whether federal or state) do…

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