According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the part of the Medicare program that provides recipients with the ability to select their own private insurance have seen a drop in their premiums by an average of 7 percent, and there has been an increase in enrollment by 10 percent. According to Kathleen Sebelius, a Health and Human Services secretary, this has been an ongoing trend for Medicare Advantage system, which helps to work against the negative forecasts that have been made by those in opposition to the health…
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With Thanksgiving and Black Friday over, the Medicare deadline is the next big date
With the Thanksgiving turkey eaten and Black Friday’s discount-hunting madness behind them, consumers have started to use the final two weeks left for open Medicare enrollment to do their last minute insurance shopping. Senior citizens are now starting to run out of time for choosing a new Medicare prescription drug or Advantage plan if they want to alter their current coverage. The deadline for Medicare’s open enrollment has been moved to December 7 from its traditional December 31 as a result of the 2010 federal healthcare laws. The reason for…
Read MoreOver half of seniors using exchange for private Medicare plan to reevaluate in 2011 AEP
A survey that included the participation of 372 seniors who have previously bought private supplemental Medicare plans showed that 58 percent are now using the 2011Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) to rethink their insurance needs. When the seniors were asked why they were reevaluating their plans, the top three reasons were: • 45 percent wanted to make certain that they were receiving the best coverage for their needs • 19 percent had experienced an increase in premiums • 9 percent had experienced an increase in out-of-pocket expenses. Another 35 percent…
Read MoreMedicare issues that baby boomers should understand
An eHealth Inc. subsidiary, PlanPrescriber, has issued its “Top 6 List”, which is a report that contains issues that individuals who are considering the Medicare Supplement plan – especially baby boomers – will want to think about before the end of the 2012 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. This period started on October 15, 2011, and will continue until December 7, 2011. In the majority of circumstances, beneficiaries of Medicare who also have a supplement plan and want to alter their prescription drug coverage in Part D for next year will…
Read MoreThe Medicare Information Solution: part 1
Health insurance can be a concern throughout a person’s entire life, but Medicare helps to ease that anxiety once retirement age comes around. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any concerns about Medicare itself. Primarily, this consists of which programs to choose. As a senior citizen, healthcare coverage can be quite complicated, as the system is based upon a number of different forms of insurance, some of which are public, and others that are private. One person may require up to four different insurance programs; each of which needs…
Read MoreAn overview of Medicare plans and what they cover
Medicare health insurance is a program that is federally administered and is made available to people with certain specific forms of disability, permanent kidney failure, or people who are 65 years of age or older. There are several different types of Medicare plans, the basics of which are as follows: • Medicare Part A – provides coverage for hospital care (among institutions that accept Medicare) and has no monthly premium for its beneficiaries, as long as they have been employed and have paid FICA taxes for a minimum of a…
Read MoreMedicare regulations may be causing shortage of cancer drugs
A month’s long shortage of cancer drugs may be the result of Medicare regulations. For several years, Medicare has provided coverage for cancer patients, allowing them to obtain treatments that they would otherwise have no access to. While Medicare offers this coverage, however, the number of cancer fighting drugs has been falling steadily. The phenomenon may be the result of a regulation within the Medicare system that dictates that doctors must purchase cancer drugs, not patients. Traditionally, patients have been responsible for purchasing their own medications as prescribed to them…
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