Medicare Medicaid Category

Medicare & Medicaid

News articles in this section include actions by federal regulators like the CMS and HHS, as well as information on Medicare and state Medicaid coverage and benefits.

What The Shutdown Means For Medicare, Medicaid And Other Health Programs

Core programs will keep running because their funding is built into law. But a popular Medicare benefit has already ended, and local health centers may be at risk unless Congress acts soon.

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Doctors Cancel Telehealth Appointments As Medicare Coverage Lapses

Health care providers across the country are canceling telehealth visits with Medicare beneficiaries or warning patients they will have to pay out of pocket for appointments because Congress let coverage lapse. When government funding expired Sept. 30, so did several health care policies mostly involving payments, and among them are provisions that allowed Medicare to ...

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A Look At Insurers’ Medicare Advantage Plans For 2026

While enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) grew to include 50% of all Medicare eligibles in 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is projecting a decline for the 2026 plan year.

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Trump Announces Deal With Pfizer To Lower Drug Prices

President Trump on Tuesday announced that Pfizer had agreed to sell its products in the U.S. at “Most Favored Nation” pricing, one day after the administration required companies to respond to his prescription drug pricing executive order. Drugmakers were given until Sept. 29 to respond to Trump’s “Most Favored Nation” Executive Order that required companies ...

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How California Families Are Already Bracing For Looming Medicaid Cuts

a host of federally funded healthcare and nutrition programs that serve low-income Americans will be scaled back, revamped with expanded work requirements and other restrictions or canceled altogether if individual states can’t find alternate funding sources.

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Hospitals, Doctors Face Virtual Care Cliff With Telehealth, Hospital At Home Services On The Line

Medicare beneficiaries stand to lose access to two key virtual care programs that the federal government has offered since the start of the pandemic if the government shuts down Tuesday at midnight. The Medicare telehealth waivers and Acute Hospital at Home programs are set to expire Oct. 1 unless Congress passes a short-term government funding ...

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CMS: Average MA Premiums Are Set To Decline For 2026 Plan Year

The Trump administration projects average Medicare Advantage (MA) premiums will decline slightly for the 2026 plan year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Friday that the average monthly premium across all types of MA coverage is set to be $14, down from $16.40 in 2025. This includes MA plans with prescription drug coverage as ...

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Bill To Avert Government Shutdown Stalls In Senate As Democrats Demand Talks

The House passed a Republican-backed measure, largely along party lines, that would push the shutdown deadline to Nov. 21. But then the Senate rejected a Democrat-led proposal that would keep the government open through Oct. 31, as well as implement several Democratic priorities.

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States Are Cutting Medicaid Provider Payments Long Before Trump Cuts Hit

Every day for nearly 18 years, Alessandra Fabrello has been a medical caregiver for her son, on top of being his mom. “It is almost impossible to explain what it takes to keep a child alive who should be dead,” said Fabrello, whose son, Ysadore Maklakoff, experienced a rare brain condition called acute necrotizing encephalopathy ...

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Medicare Part D Notices: What Brokers Need to Know for 2025 and 2026

By October 14, 2025, employers with plans providing prescription drug coverage must distribute Medicare Part D creditable coverage notices. These notices help Medicare-eligible individuals – employees and dependent(s), including those eligible due to disability or End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) – decide whether to keep employer coverage or enroll in Part D for 2026. Here’s the good ...

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