Medicare
WASHINGTON — A proposed physician fee schedule for 2023 published this past week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services aims to increase access to behavioral health care, cancer screening and dental care. The Calendar Year 2023 Physician Fee... Read More
WASHINGTON — Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is urging his colleagues to take up legislation during the upcoming lame duck session of the 117th Congress to allow Medicare beneficiaries to more easily have virtual appointments with their doctors. Schatz has led... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is taking new steps to increase accountability of bad actors in the nursing home industry, improve the quality of nursing homes and make them safer. The new initiatives follow up on President Joe Biden’s promise... Read More
WASHINGTON — Medicare Open Enrollment begins on Saturday, Oct. 15, and officials with the Department of Health and Human Services are encouraging Medicare recipients to review and compare their options due to beneficial changes stemming from the passage of the... Read More
WASHINGTON — Lensmaker Essilor has agreed to pay $16.4 million to resolve allegations it caused claims to be submitted to Medicare and Medicaid that violated federal anti-kickback statutes. Essilor, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, manufactures, markets and distributes optical lenses and... Read More
WASHINGTON — Though few likely noticed given the court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court also decided a highly technical case Friday regarding how the Department of Health and Human Services calculates a class of Medicare payments. The... Read More
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday called on Congress to “fix” the Medicare Secondary Payer Act after a majority of her colleagues ruled a group health plan did not violate the act by providing only limited benefits... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services extended the COVID-19 public health emergency this week beyond the July 15 expiration to October. The eventual expiration of the declaration will lead to changes in certain flexibilities granted to Medicare... Read More
WASHINGTON — Despite pressure to go another way, Medicare on Thursday evening announced it will only cover the new Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm for people participating in a clinical trial. The decision came as something of a surprise as Medicare... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients, part of an election-year push by Democrats for price curbs on prescription drugs at a time of rising inflation. Experts... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are debating how to divide up what could be a smaller serving of health care spending in President Joe Biden's domestic policy bill, pitting the needs of older adults who can't afford their dentures against the... Read More
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is disbursing an initial amount of $2 million to four health care entities in four states to bolster access to their services in underserved communities. Funds will be distributed to participating hospitals in... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration on Thursday offered the first detailed look at actions the White House may take in conjunction with congressional action to lower prescription drug prices. The 29-page plan, released through the Department of Health and Human... Read More
WASHINGTON -- A hearing held by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging centered around whether to expand Medicare to cover eyes, ears, and teeth, a proposal from Senate Democrats that could possibly cost over $359 billion over a decade. ... Read More
Policymakers and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry debated the cost of prescription drugs and the myriad of proposals on Capitol Hill to bring those prices down at last week's Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. Amitabh Chandra, a health care... Read More
WASHINGTON - Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, are urging their colleagues to pass the Ensuring Access to Primary Care for Women & Children Act. This legislation is intended to expand access to primary care but it languished in... Read More
WASHINGTON – Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., are urging their colleagues to support legislation that would address looming cuts to Medicare by redirecting a portion of the recently passed $1.9 trillion dollar COVID relief bill. The Protecting... Read More
DENVER, Colo. - Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., on Wednesday reintroduced their Medicare-X Choice Act by urging their colleagues to embrace it as a way of expanding both the Affordable Care Act and Medicare. During a late... Read More
WASHINGTON — Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and Rep. David McKinley, R-W. Va., introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent cuts to hospital payments through the duration of the COVID public health emergency. The Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act would delay the Medicare... Read More
About Campa-Najjar: Ammar Campa-Najjar was born in East San Diego County, the son of a Christian working-class mother who raised him with help from family and neighbors. From his first job as a church janitor to serving in the White... Read More
About Lamb: Conor Lamb is a Marine and former federal prosecutor who represents Pennsylvania’s 17th district. Lamb won a special election in March 2018 to represent the 18th district, and after Pennsylvania’s redistricting, Lamb went on to defeat incumbent Republican... Read More
About Londrigan: In 2018, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan came within less than one percent of the vote of unseating incumbent Rodney Davis. In Congress, she will oppose tax giveaways to corporations and the wealthy. She will support a labor union's right... Read More
About Shedd: Tiffany Shedd grew up in Pinal County, Ariz. A small business owner, farmer and natural resource attorney, she is also a former bi-lingual kindergarten teacher, who worked her way through college and law school at the University of... Read More
WASHINGTON – Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., introduced a bill in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support that would guarantee access to the future novel coronavirus vaccine at no cost to Medicare beneficiaries. The bill, entitled the “Securing Affordable Vaccines... Read More
WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program to be included in any upcoming COVID-19 relief legislation. The FCC established the program in April 2020 to better provide health care... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — At greater risk from COVID-19, some seniors now face added anxiety due to delays obtaining Medicare coverage. Advocates for older people say the main problem involves certain applications for Medicare's “Part B” coverage for outpatient care. It... Read More
MIAMI — Sonia Domínguez, 74, and her husband, Miguel Morejón, 81, can’t recall the last time they’ve seen a dentist in Miami, the city they’ve called home for more than two decades. “It may have been around three, four years... Read More
WASHINGTON - The Blue Dog Coalition of House Democrats on Thursday endorsed a proposal to create congressional committees specifically tasked to restore and strengthen endangered federal trust funds. The coalition of fiscally-responsible, centrist Democrats said in a statement that without... Read More
WASHINGTON - A quartet of House Democrats want to see Medicare Part B coverage expanded to include routine vision benefits. Right now, Medicare only covers surgery and screenings for people who are at a high risk of getting cataracts and... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump traveled to The Villages, a retirement community of 125,000 residents north of Orlando, to tout a plan to "save" Medicare, but House Democrats quickly panned the president, his plan and his rhetoric. The central theme... Read More
