Medicare is taking steps to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards. Through this initiative the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will prevent fraud, fight identity theft and protect essential program funding and the private healthcare and financial information of our Medicare beneficiaries. CMS will issue new Medicare cards with a new unique, randomly-assigned number called a Medicare …
Feds To Waive Penalties For Some Who Signed Up Late For Medicare
Each year, thousands of Americans miss their deadline to enroll in Medicare, and federal officials and consumer advocates worry that many of them mistakenly think they don’t need to sign up because they have purchased insurance on the health law’s marketplaces. That decision can leave them facing a lifetime of enrollment penalties. Now Medicare has temporarily changed its rules to …
HHS OIG Hotline Scam – need to share & warn our partners asap
A telephone scam in which crooks alter caller ID to make it seem as if the call is coming from the HHS OIG Hotline 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477) to get beneficiaries and members of the public to verify or share personal info which is used to victimize them via financial and other crimes – draining their bank accounts. OIG wants the public …
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 …
21 Medicare Health Plans Warned To Fix Provider Directory Errors
By Phil Galewitz and Susan Jaffe January 18, 2017 Federal officials this month warned 21 Medicare Advantage insurers with high rates of errors in their online network directories that they could face heavy fines or have to stop enrolling people if the problems are not fixed by Feb. 6. Among the plans that were cited are Blue Cross Blue Shield …
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 …
Be a smart Medicare shopper!
Medicare 20 hrs · Medicare Open Enrollment is your chance to shop for plans to compare things like plan premiums, out-of-pocket costs, and prescription drug coverage, just to name a few. Check out the latest Medicare blog to read more. Medicare Open Enrollment: Be a smart shopper Whether groceries, health insurance, or anything else, everybody wants to get the best …
Fight Fraud by Guarding Your Medicare Number
Health care fraud drives up costs for everyone in the health care system. One way to protect against such fraud is to guard your Medicare number. Fraud schemes often depend on identity thieves getting hold of people’s Medicare numbers, so treat your number as you would a credit card. Follow these important steps to protect yourself from fraud: …
