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.

California’s Ambitious Medicaid Experiment Gets Tripped Up in Implementation

Nearly two years into Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $12 billion experiment to transform California’s Medicaid program into a social services provider for the state’s most vulnerable residents, the institutions tasked with providing the new services aren’t effectively doing so, according to a survey released Tuesday. As part of the ambitious five-year initiative, called CalAIM, the state is supposed to offer ...

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As Medicare Advantage Market Share Grows, So Does Criticism Of Companies Selling The Plans

The enrollment period for Medicare ends on Dec. 7 — and many people across the nation are deciding about supplementing Medicare with Medicare Advantage plans. Medicare Advantage plans, which are plans offered through private insurer companies that the federal government contracts with, are advertised as a solution to original Medicare’s limited scope in coverage, but have ...

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CMS Proposes Rule To Tighten Medicare Advantage Marketing

The proposed rule will also purportedly improve access to behavioral healthcare and make prior authorization more transparent.

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No One’s Promising You Can Keep Your Doctor Anymore

President Barack Obama famously told Americans they could keep their doctors. At the rate things are going, it won’t be long before many Americans don’t have one in the first place — at least not the way they’re used to. The math is simple: Medical schools just aren’t churning out doctors fast enough to keep ...

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Retirees Face Significantly Higher Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Premiums In 2024. What To Know

A new law is poised to cap seniors’ prescription drug costs covered under Medicare, starting in 2025. But retirees may be in for a shock next year — significantly higher Medicare Part D premiums for prescription drug coverage. The cost of the average premiums will rise between 42% and 57% in 2024 compared to 2023 in five states with the ...

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Big Changes Coming To Medi-Cal, The State’s Health Plan For 40% Of Californians

Starting Jan. 1, two groups of people that had not been eligible for full-scale Medi-Cal will gain access: low-income adults ages 26-49 and some people who are disabled or older than 64. On the other hand, some current Medi-Cal enrollees will lose coverage.

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Beyond Insulin: Medi-Cal Expands Patient Access to Diabetes Supplies

June Voros sprang from her couch as a high-pitched beep warned her that she needed a quick dose of sugar. Her blood sugar was plummeting, and the beep came from a continuous glucose monitor attached to her abdomen. The small but powerful device alerts Voros when her blood sugar is dangerously high or low. “My blood sugar ...

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State Medicaid Officials Project Enrollment Nosedive Next Year Amid Unwinding

State Medicaid officials are predicting steep enrollment declines and rising state spending on the safety net insurance program as pandemic-era policies expire.

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AMA Urges Coverage Of Obesity Treatments As Payers Balk At Costs

The American Medical Association called on insurance companies, employers, and government programs to cover obesity treatments even as many remain reluctant to pay for them, fearing the costs of covering the drugs at a mass scale. The large physicians’ lobbying group voted to pass a resolution at the association’s interim meeting Monday saying it will ...

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California Single Payer Next Step

California governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 770, a bill related to Single Payer health care in California in October 2023. The bill does not create a Single Payer health system in California, and it does not detail any components of what the system would entail. Instead, it focuses entirely on obtaining federal funding for a state-run single-payer health care system in California.

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