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.
The COVID-19 special enrollment period increased enrollment in the Affordable Care Act’s federal and state-run insurance exchanges to 12.2 million people, as signups were buoyed by boosted tax credits, new federal data shows. The Department of Health and Human Services released a report on Wednesday reporting that more than 2.8 million people signed up for ...
Should Gavin Newsom survive the Republican-driven attempt to oust him from office, the Democratic governor will face the prospect of paying back supporters who coalesced behind him.
Employers (of any size) providing prescription drug coverage benefits must distribute an annual notice to all Medicare-eligible individuals by October 15th – including both employees and dependents.
President Joe Biden is requiring most federal workers to get COVID-19 shots, without an option to instead get tested weekly, and will propose that workers at large companies get vaccinated or undergo testing. The president’s plan will also double fines for people not in compliance with federal masking requirements, such as on airplanes. Enforcement of ...
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Thursday unveiled the Biden administration’s road map to lowering the cost of prescription drugs. The plan, summarized in a 29-page document, supports legislation that allows the federal government to negotiate lower prices on the costliest drugs each year and pass those savings on to private insurers. Current ...
It’s a situation that appears incongruous: Congressional Democrats want to expand Medicare’s benefits while a trust fund that supports the program is facing insolvency. Indeed, some Republican lawmakers have seized on that looming problem as a reason to oppose a proposal to add dental, vision and hearing coverage to Medicare. The provision is included in ...
Small business owners understand the value of offering benefits, but some struggle to afford them, and businesses can pay a high price tag for making mistakes in administration of benefits, a new report finds.
If you live in one state, does it matter that the doctor treating you online is in another? Surprisingly, the answer is yes, and the ability to conduct certain virtual appointments may be nearing an end.
Uncertainty over future surges of COVID-19 and the end of regulatory flexibilities are going to be major drivers for 2022 premiums on the individual and small group markets, a new actuary report finds. The report, released Thursday (PDF) by the American Academy of Actuaries, finds insurers face major uncertainties like the end of the public health emergency ...
Medicare’s insurance trust fund that pays hospitals is expected to run out of money in 2026, the same projection as last year, according to a new report from Medicare’s board of trustees. The report, released Tuesday, found Medicare spent $925.8 billion in 2020 and served 62.6 million people. It found that the COVID-19 pandemic had a ...