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…
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 includes many provisions designed to address high prescription drug prices and related out-of-pocket costs. One of the most notable changes allows Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain high-cost prescription drugs, which is expected to save Medicare…
Recent policy conversations related to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) have focused on proposals that would eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s critical protection for people with preexisting conditions. This controversial proposal has drawn a lot of attention for good reason. Eliminating this…
We already know that health insurance legislation known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA) is a bad deal for older Americans ages 50-64. For people who purchase coverage on their own in the individual (nongroup) market and are not yet eligible for Medicare, the bill would significantly increase…
The revised American Health Care Act (AHCA) threatens to do away with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) protections for people with preexisting health conditions. These protections prevent insurance companies from denying these individuals coverage or charging them higher rates based on their health.
By midnight on April 18, millions of Americans will have hit the File button in their tax preparation apps or dropped their tax returns in the mail. With 2017 tax season almost behind us, it’s a good time to take a look at taxes as they relate to Americans over 50 — specifically, older Americans’…
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent national panel of medical experts, this week released a draft revised guideline on screening for prostate cancer with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. The revised guideline reverses its 2012 recommendation discouraging PSA…
Being a family caregiver — that is, providing unpaid care to a parent, spouse, friend or other adult loved one — is hard work. It can also be rewarding work. The struggles, frustrations and stress associated with this caregiving journey cross gender lines. While the “typical” family caregiver is a…