For decades, if someone on Medicaid wanted to get treatment for drug or alcohol addiction, they almost always had to rely solely on money from state and local sources. Now, in a dramatic shift, the federal government is considering chipping in, too. The agency that governs Medicaid is proposing to cover 15 days of inpatient rehab per month for anyone …
By Virgil Dickson | December 17, 2015 The CMS denied a request to allow Michigan to increase cost-sharing for Medicaid beneficiaries but granted other provisions of an unusual take-it-or-leave-it waiver application submitted under a mandate from state lawmakers. The terms are outlined in the approved waiver sent to the state Thursday. Earlier this fall, Michigan submitted a take-it-or-leave-it request to the …
BOSTON — Giving Tuesday, a charitable initiative which uses social media as its catalyst, raised nearly $117 million in online donations, a jump of 155 percent over last year, according to preliminary calculations exclusively provided to Reuters by the event’s organizers. In the 24 hours starting at midnight Eastern Time on Tuesday, U.S. charities reported receiving 1.08 million donations. “We …
Medicare spending, which represented 20 percent of national health spending in 2014, grew 5.5 percent to $618.7 billion, a faster increase than the 3.0 percent growth in 2013. The 2014 rate of growth was driven by increased spending growth for retail prescription drugs and in Medicare Advantage. Per-enrollee spending increased by 2.4 percent. Average growth in per-enrollee spending was 7.0 …
Our volunteers are very interesting, active people! While visiting my cousin in Glen Arbor (Leelanau Peninsula, above Traverse City) last week, she took me to a play reading of “The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes and THE Woman”. One of the actors was Leo Paveglio, a MMAP counselor in Region 10! His passion and enthusiasm for his part definitely helped to …
The National Public Radio (NPR) show All Tech Considered recently featured a story about phone scams and the technology that scammers are using. Click here to read and listen to the full story “Why Phone Fraud Starts with a Silent Call.” Many of the scams we see at SMP begin with a phone call. As suggested in this story, we …
Medicare Open Enrollment Starts Today Individuals with Medicare can shop for high quality health and drug plans The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced the beginning of the Medicare Open Enrollment period where people with Medicare can shop for a Medicare Advantage (MA) or Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) for 2016. The Medicare Open Enrollment period happens every …
Second Analysis Finds Modest Shifts in Medicare Advantage Plan Options When Medicare’s 2016 open enrollment begins Oct. 15, current enrollees in stand-alone Medicare Part D plans are projected to face an average 13 percent increase in premiums if they remain in their current plan for 2016, a new analysis finds. Medicare Part D: A First Look at Plan Offerings in …
From Medicare.gov Fraud Prevention Toolkit CMS Fraud Prevention Initiative The federal government has made important strides in reducing fraud, waste and improper payments across the government. Over the last five years, these efforts have resulted in more than $25 billion returned to the Medicare Trust Fund from people who attempted to defraud seniors and taxpayers. The Affordable Care Act provided …
