Open Enrollment is Here! ~ It’s Time to Review Your Medicare Options for 2020
Read moreMedicare’s Fall Open Enrollment is here! Officially known as the Annual Election Period (AEP) which runs from October 15 through December 7, this is main time when you can change your coverage. All changes are effective January 1 next year. If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch plans or disenroll...
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President’s Executive Order Tips the Scales Even More in Favor of Private Medicare Advantage Plans Over Original Medicare
Read moreThe President’s Executive Order signed last Thursday 10/3 is just another attempt to dismantle Original Medicare. The press conference contained lies and mis-construed information, for example, saying that this EO is to “… ensure that, as much as we can, our Fee-for-Service Medicare program is not advantaged or promoted over Medicare Advantage with respect...
Skilled Nursing Facilities New Medicare Payment System Takes Effect ~ Is It Patient or Profit Driven?
Read moreAs of October 1, 2019, Medicare is implementing a new payment system for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), according to an update from our partners at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR). It is called the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), yet how “patient driven” the complicated payment system is (or is not) remains to...
Unbiased Info from CMS on Medicare Coverage Options is No Longer a Given
Read moreIt is no longer a given that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will issue neutral, unbiased information about beneficiaries’ traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage options. In a recent article, Medicare & You 2020 ~ Better than Draft, But Room for Improvement, our partners at Center for Medicare Advocacy lay out in...
Advocates Propose Agenda Priorities for California’s Master Plan for Aging
Read moreCalifornia Health Advocates, along with over 100 other advocacy organizations statewide signed onto this letter that applauds the Governor’s creation of a Master Plan for Aging and stresses the importance of policy solutions that focus on equity, diversity and inclusion. It also lays out eight specific priorities that the plan must address, including: Advancing...
Have You Been Contacted to Participate in the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey?
Read moreThe Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) is an important national study designed to provide information on the health care experiences of Medicare beneficiaries across the country. The information is used to analyze health care policy issues and improve planning of health care services. The MCBS collects information about the health problems of Medicare beneficiaries,...
CHA Voices Concerns on the New Medicare Plan Finder Tool
Read moreCalifornia Health Advocates submitted the letter below voicing our concerns and some solutions on the new Medicare Plan Finder tool that will launch on October 1. A few of the concerns include: issues of privacy; the fact that beneficiaries will have to establish a log-in and password to do a personalized health plan or...
House Advances the BENES Act Along with Other Medicare Improvements
Read moreIn late June, the House Ways & Means Committee advanced the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act along with several other bills for Medicare improvements. The BENES Act is now part of a much larger bipartisan package of bills referred to as the Beneficiary Education Tools, Telehealth, and Extenders Reauthorization (BETTER) Act of...
Are You Part of This Year’s Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey? Learn How to Verify Your Participation & Prevent Fraud
Read moreUsually we tell people that Medicare will neither call you nor show up at your door. If either of these things happen, it’s a red flag for fraud. Yet, just like most things, there is an exception. Each year the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) adds about 12,000 beneficiaries to the sample. They...
Bipartisan BENES Act Would Simplify Medicare Part B Enrollment
Read moreFor many people nearing Medicare eligibility, the question about whether or not to sign up for Medicare Part B is confusing and has significant financial and health coverage access consequences for getting it “wrong”. Those who are already receiving Social Security benefits at 65 years of age, don’t need to worry as they will...