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.

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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CMS Finalizes 2024 Medicare Hospital, Doctor Payments, 340B Fix And Price Transparency Requirements

Regulators finalized a number of rules Thursday with sweeping implications for providers in the Medicare program, including rates for next year that doctors and hospitals slammed as insufficient.

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Biden Administration Proposes Capping Broker Payment In MA, Following Pressure

The CMS proposed a rule on Monday to stop brokers from steering beneficiaries to certain plans, in regulators’ latest move to curb MA marketing misconduct.

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California Healthcare Provider’s Move Shows Pitfalls Of Medicare Advantage

Many people on Medicare look the other way when the program’s annual enrollment period rolls around, preferring simply to ignore the hassle. But for thousands of seniors in San Diego, California, Medicare enrollment this year has become a confusing scramble to find new insurance – or new health providers. Scripps Health, a major Southern California ...

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Health Spending Expected To Outpace Growth In The Overall Economy

A recent report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) shows that per capita health spending slowed in 2021. The growth rate was 2.6% down from 9.9% in 2020, after a ramp-up that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As utilization returns to pre-pandemic levels and price inflation in the health sector abates somewhat, per ...

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Medicare Advantage Brokers (And Deceptive Pitches) Scrutinized At Senate Hearing

At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, lawmakers called for additional oversight over private companies offering Medicare Advantage, in response to misleading and predatory advertising targeting seniors during open enrollment.

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