Thinking Policy

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.

Recent evidence indicates a sharp increase in consumer complaints about the marketing and sales of health insurance plans under Medicare Advantage (MA), Medicare’s private-plan option.

Here's how the loss of millions of workers from the labor force over the last few years is influencing today's workplace.

Medicare just announced the first set of Part D drugs that will be subject to negotiation, and the resulting negotiated prices will become available in 2026.

Telehealth visits are medical care appointments conducted remotely by video or telephone rather than in-person in a doctor’s office or other traditional setting.

At the heart of proposed Medicaid regulations now under consideration at the federal level is the need to ease the cumbersome and confusing processes to both apply for program benefits and keep them. The changes would affect the millions of individuals already enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) as well as help more people qualify.

Medicare policies implemented in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency helped improve access to telehealth services for millions of people with Medicare.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the use of new vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for adults 60 and older who have discussed it with their health care provider. The vaccines, which will be available this fall, could save thousands of older-adult lives each year.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released new guidelines on screening asymptomatic adults for depression, suicide risk and anxiety—marking the first time the Task Force issued a recommendation specifically on screening for anxiety disorders among adults.