CMS Issues Proposed Rule to Increase Patients’ Health Insurance Choices for 2018

CMS News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 15, 2017 Contact: CMS Media Relations (202) 690-6145 | CMS Media Inquiries The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued a proposed rule for 2018, which proposes new reforms that are critical to stabilizing the individual and small group health insurance markets to help protect patients. This proposed rule would make changes …

Do You Have the Facts About Medicare’s Financial Outlook for the Future?

Medicare is likely to be back on the federal policy agenda this year as Congress and President Trump pursue repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, and potentially consider options to reduce federal spending. When talking about Medicare, the nation’s federal health insurance program for 57 million people age 65 and over and younger people with disabilities, some policymakers often …

What to do if you’re wrongfully billed for Medicare costs

Know your rights as a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary. By Stacy Canan and Tim Engelhardt – JAN 18, 2017 If you’re among the 7 million Americans enrolled in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Program , doctors, suppliers, and other providers aren’t allowed to bill you for Medicare costs when you receive covered medical services, equipment, and supplies. Your Medicare premiums, as …

Nearly 12 million people with Medicare have saved over $26 billion on prescription drugs since 2010

Over 40 million Medicare beneficiaries utilized free preventive services in 2016 The Department of Health and Human Services released today new information that shows that millions of seniors and people with disabilities with Medicare continue to save on prescription drugs and see improved benefits in 2016 as a result of the Affordable Care Act. More than 11.8 million Medicare beneficiaries …

Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost Sharing Policies as of January 2017: Findings from a 50-State Survey

Jan 12, 2017 | Tricia Brooks, Karina Wagnerman, Samantha Artiga, Elizabeth Cornachione, and Petry Ubri Executive Summary Report Tables Endnotes This 15th annual 50-state survey provides data on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility, enrollment, renewal and cost sharing policies as of January 2017, and identifies changes in these policies in the past year. (See Appendix Tables 1-21 …

Transforming Health Care Delivery through the CMS Innovation Center: Better Care, Healthier People, and Smarter Spending

January 5, 2017 By Dr. Patrick Conway, Acting Principal Deputy Administrator We have made great progress in recent years on reforming our system into one that delivers better quality of care for patients and pays for care in a smarter way, including investing more in prevention and primary care. Before 2010, there had been only modest efforts to improve care …

Medicare-Medicaid ACO Model joins growing number of state-based efforts to improve quality of care, lower costs

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Medicare-Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model, a new initiative designed to improve the quality of care and lower costs for beneficiaries who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare-Medicaid ACO Model builds on the current Medicare Shared Savings Program and advances efforts to partner with states in …

CMS launches new online tool to make Quality Payment Program easier for clinicians

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a tool to share automatically electronic data for the Medicare Quality Payment Program. This new release is the first in a series that will be part of CMS’s ongoing efforts to spur the creation of innovative, customizable tools to reduce burden for clinicians, while also supporting high-quality care for patients. …