“Secure your future, #checkyourstatement today on mySocialSecurity!” For more than 80 years, Social Security has been securing today and tomorrow for America’s workers and their families. To help secure your today and tomorrow we ask that you check your Social Security Statement every year because we base our benefit calculations on the earnings information in the Statement. Errors could prevent …
Michigan governor seeks more Medicaid coverage for Flint residents
By Associated Press | February 14, 2016 Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is asking the federal government to expand Medicaidcoverage to people under 21 and pregnant women who have been exposed to Flint’s lead-contaminated water. In a statement released Sunday, Snyder says about 15,000 more Flint residents would benefit if the government approves the request. The governor says the state would help by …
Branch-St. Joseph Area Agency on Aging Receives Navigator Award from MMAP, Inc.
Area Agency on Aging Staff (from left to right): Belinda Whitely, Deanna Himebaugh, Laura Sutter, Melissa Cramton and Megan Bentley – this year’s recipients of the SHIP Navigator Award (photo provided by Area Agency on Aging) Rebecca Burns, Health Officer for the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, the Agency that oversees the AAA office, adds “We are very proud of …
CMS finalizes controversial Medicaid outpatient drug rule
By Virgil Dickson | January 21, 2016 By April 1, state Medicaid agencies must start reimbursing pharmacies for prescription drugs based on actual acquisition costs according to a final rule released Thursday. Medicaid programs until now have reimbursed pharmacies for prescription drugs based on the ingredient costs for the drug and a dispensing fee for filling the prescription, according to the …
Medicaid To Fund More Addiction Treatment
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 …
Michigan Medicaid waiver appears to save eligibility for 600,000 residents
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 …
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports:
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 …
NPR Story Explains “Why Phone Fraud Starts with a Silent Call”
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 …
CMS News – Medicare Open Enrollment Starts Today!
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 …
Medicare Drug Plan Enrollees Would Face Average 13 Percent Premium Increase Unless They Switch Plans During Open Enrollment, New Analysis Finds
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 …