Every year, tens of thousands of people enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans are denied necessary care that should be covered under the program. A government watchdog report found private Medicare plans routinely rejected claims that should have been paid. These plans often denied services that were medically necessary. Not only are many seeing managed
Future Funding LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan recently said if Congress fails to pass Biden’s Build Back Better plan, it would be “one of their greatest failures ever” and would have “catastrophic human consequences” for older adults and their families. She believes the bill needs to include an expansion of home- and community-based
Politico reported something strange. Dentists are against providing Medicare recipients dental care! The Biden Administrations wants to expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing care. However, conservative Democrats want to limit the expansion to only the poorest Americans. But Medicare is not just for poor people. We have never limited benefits based on means
Patient Outcomes McKnight’s had a good article on a recent proposal by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). This will replace the current value-based purchasing program with a more equitable, value-incentive model. MedPAC delivered its annual report to Congress. The report includes a recommendation to eliminate the current SNF VBP with an alternative incentive model that
Expanding Medicare Republicans fought the creation of Medicare in the 1960s. They still oppose any government participation in health care industry. The problem for them is that Medicare is very popular. Most Medicare recipients are satisfied. And now Joe Biden wants to expand Medicare to more Americans. Biden’s simple and clear strategy is lowering the
Unsafe Discharges Skilled Nursing News reported that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will investigate wrongful evictions and unsafe discharges. OIG’s formal work plan includes a probe into unplanned discharges. “A facility-initiated transfer or discharge of a resident from a nursing home can be an unsafe and