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.

Health Insurers Propose Subsidies but Shun Government Coverage

Health insurers are pushing Congress for more government help in the face of Covid-19—including near total premium subsidies for people who lose their jobs and stay on their employer-sponsored insurance—but they’re steering clear of the next step, full government-sponsored coverage.

Read More

Amid Coronavirus Distress, Wealthy Hospitals Hoard Millions

Inova Health System, with campuses in some of the wealthiest suburbs of Washington, D.C., and Truman Medical Centers, a safety-net hospital in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, have little in common. But, today, they are confronting the same financial plague: mass cancellations of nonessential surgeries that are their biggest moneymakers while bracing for an expensive onslaught of coronavirus patients.

Read More

In Fine Print, HHS Appears To Ban All Surprise Billing During The Pandemic

Federal officials offering emergency funding to hospitals, clinics and doctors’ practices have included this stipulation: They cannot foist surprise medical bills on COVID-19 patients.

Read More

CMS Releases Guidance For How Health Systems Can Restart Elective Procedures Canceled Due To COVID-19

The Trump administration has released new guidance for health systems on when and how to resume elective procedures that have been on pause due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read More

Uncertain COVID-19 Costs Pose Major Challenge To Insurers In Setting 2021 Premiums

Insurers are under the gun to issue premium rates to state regulators in the next couple of months. But the unknown cost impact of COVID-19 poses a massive challenge, according to a new analysis. A report backed by America’s Health Insurance Plans estimates a wide range of costs to insurers based on infection rate: from $56 ...

Read More

Biden’s Incremental Medicare Play For Bernie’s Backers

In one of his first proposals since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden is wading back into the roiling waters of health policy.

Read More

Furor Erupts: Billions Going To Hospitals Based On Medicare Billings, Not COVID-19

Probably few hospital systems need the emergency federal grants announced this week to handle the coronavirus crisis as badly as Florida’s Jackson Health does.

Read More

Pandemic Delays Federal Probe Into Medicare Advantage Health Plans

Federal health officials, citing a need to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, have temporarily halted some efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments made to Medicare Advantage health plans.

Read More

CMS Expands Coverage For Essential Diagnostic Services Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, along with the Departments of Labor and the Treasury, have issued guidance aimed at ensuring Americans with private health insurance have coverage of COVID-19 diagnostic testing and certain other related services, including antibody testing, at no cost.

Read More

COVID-19’s Potential Double-Digit Hike on 2021 Premiums

According to a new report by Covered California, California’s marketplace, 2021 premium increases to individuals and employers from COVID-19 alone could range from 4 percent to more than 40 percent, if carriers must recoup 2020 costs and protect solvency. COVID-19 has been an unprecedented situation with one-year projected costs in the national commercial market ranging ...

Read More
arrowcaret-downclosefacebook-squarehamburgerinstagram-squarelinkedin-squarepauseplaytwitter-squareyoutube-square