Most of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States are now over the age of 50, and more than 175,000 are over the age of 65. For many people who were diagnosed prior to the introduction of revolutionary highly active antiretroviral therapy, life expectancy was measured in months,…
A recent report by the influential Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) — the independent agency that advises Congress on Medicare policy — finds that Medicare pays 20 percent more per enrollee in a private Medicare Advantage (MA) plan than it would if that same individual was instead…
Medicare is the federal health insurance program that covers over 66 million older adults and people with disabilities, and accounts for over a fifth of the nation’s health care spending. Since about half of all people with Medicare are now in private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, better…
This blog is part of a series focusing on changes to Medicare’s private plan option (known as Medicare Advantage) aimed at strengthening the program to better serve the more than 32 million individuals enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan today. A previous blog in this series focused on new…
For the 5.6 million adults ages 50 to 64 who are uninsured, this Open Enrollment Period offers an important opportunity to get coverage for 2024. For the over 5 million older adults already enrolled in individual coverage, it’s a good time to compare plan benefits, providers, and prices to find the best plan for them.
Given the ever-rising cost of health care in the United States, many consumers are turning to medical credit cards, which may offer a convenient payment method, but those same cards also expose them to high-cost debt and financial risk.
Medicare Savings Plans (MSPs) are state-run programs that help low-income Medicare beneficiaries afford health care by paying all or part of their Medicare costs such as premiums and copays. However, applying can be burdensome and many people who are eligible for MSPs are not enrolled. A new CMS rule aims to address this challenge by making a number of changes to help streamline the application process.
Drug formularies play a large role in health care access, whether consumers know it or not. A drug formulary is a complex, multi-layered tool used to manage the safe and appropriate use of prescription drugs.