The WSJ Health Blog alerts us to the existence of predatory sales scams involving private fee for service (PFFS) Medicare plans.
medicare
America's 52 Worst Nursing Homes
By 12.3.07
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released the first-ever
How To Avoid The Medicare Donut Hole
By 11.27.07
Anyone who has Medicare and takes lots of drugs or a few very expensive ones (or who has an older relative who does) knows about the dreaded “donut hole”—the gap in coverage that happens each year if you have to spend a lot of money on prescriptions. If you’re above the poverty level but don’t have good gap insurance, it can be financially devastating. The New York Times notes that for a quarter of at-risk patients, planning ahead with generics may help you skirt the donut hole altogether. The big stumbling block is that you have to be prepared to discuss your personal finances with your doctor.
By 11.19.07
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A whisteblower lawsuit by a former employee alleges that Medicare and Medicard are being defrauded for millions of dollars by a complex three-card-monte scheme perpetrated by hospitals and group purchasing programs. [NYT] ]
Medicare Prescription Plans Set To Rise 21%
By 11.5.07
Seniors need to start comparison shopping now for their Medicare benefits. Enrollment begins November 15 and researchers say that beneficiaries in the most popular plans could see their monthly premiums lurch up 21%. Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, recommends,
By 11.2.07
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Medicare is confusing, but you should understand it a lot better after you peruse all the manuals and training materials the outsourced 1-800-MEDICARE call center has posted online for their phone reps! [CMS]
By 10.11.07
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Medicare’s prescription drug plan finder was updated with 2008 information today. [Medicare]
Medicare Companies Use Sick Marketing Practices, Federal Audit Finds
By 10.9.07
A federal audit of Medicare coverage by brand-name insurance companies found a pattern of wrongly denied claims and deceptive marketing practices, NYT reports. In some cases, salesmen would show up at elderly folk’s doors and say the President sent them, or that they’re from Medicare. In others, telemarketers call and say they’re from Medicare and the person will lose their benefits if they don’t enroll in the telemarketer’s plan. Our country’s healthcare system is on life support and we’re not sure what will fix it. Perhaps an appetite for more oversight, audits and fines for misbehaving companies would do the trick.
Medicare Won't Pay Hospitals For Preventable Errors
By 8.22.07
Medicare No Longer to Pay for Preventable Hospital Errors, Injuries or Infections [Washington Post]
Dem Gains Make Big Pharma Queasy
By 11.9.06
In other news, Democratic control of Congress cured our dyspepsia. — BEN POPKEN
