Medicare News

What to Expect from Medicare This primer on the government health plan for those 65 and up explains your options.

Medicare Fraud Risk Grows for Some Shady sales agents put seniors at increased risk of falling victim to Medicare fraud.

Time to Review Medicare Drug Plan Options for 2009 Consumers can appeal if their medications will no longer be covered.

Medicaid Cuts 'Devastating,' Pharmacies Warn Thousands of pharmacies could close if cuts are made permanent.

AARP Report Finds Seniors' Drug Costs Rising Drug prices 'exploded' after Medicare Part D began.

Electric Mobility Settles Misrepresentation Charges Rascal Scooter sales practices challenged by Washington state.

Feds List Worst Nursing Homes 52 facilities make the 'worst of the worst' list.

/news04/2007/11/medicare_suit.html">Suit Seeks Medicare Coverage of 'Off-Label' Drugs Seniors going without needed medication, suit charges.

Insurance Companies Pledge Medicare Marketing Reforms Companies accused of abusive tactics in signing up seniors.

Senate Eyes Medicare Advantage Marketing Abuses Deceptive sales practices and outright fraud reported.

House Passes Bill to Cut Medicare Prescription Drug Costs But President Bush vows to veto the measure if it reaches his desk.

Study Finds "Tremendous" Disparity In Medicare Prescription Drug Prices People in poorest areas often wind up paying the most for their prescriptions.

Hospital Statistics Not a Good Guide to Quality of Care Study finds little correlation between Medicare statistics and actual patient outcomes.

Medicare Drug Plan Costs Rising Private assistance plans can fill the gap for some seniors.

Scammers Exploit Medicare Open Enrollment Callers claiming to represent Medicare try to get seniors' credit card numbers.

Medicare Donut Hole Widening Some seniors will find the Medicare prescription drug benefit less helpful in 2007.

"Drug Discount Card" Promoter Settles Charges It Misled Seniors Peoples Benefit Services misled seniors, Massachusetts charged.

Oldest and Sickest at Risk as Medicare Juggles Rules "Dual eligibles" won't be automatically enrolled in drug benefit program next year.

Wal-Mart Expands $4 Generic Drug Program To 14 More States Retail giant says the 314 drugs make up about 25 percent of all its prescriptions.

Hospital Quality Gap Widens Chances of dying 30 percent higher in a "1-star" hospital.

Medicare Call Centers Inadequate, Report Charges Seniors still can't get reliable information to help them sort through complex Part D options.

Report: Shopping Around Beats Medicare Drug Prices Medicare clients could do better on their own, Consumers Union report finds.

Feds Give Up on Canadian Drug Crackdown Customs agents will no longer seize Grandma's prescription.

Confusion Ahead: New Medicare Plans for 2007 Just when seniors thought they had it figured out, here comes a new round of confusion options.

Seniors Bemoan "Donut Day" - Medicare Drug Coverage Stops for Millions Millions of elderly Americans find themselves without prescription drug coverage today.

Wal-Mart Cuts Generic Rx Prices To $4 In Florida Program starts tomorrow in Tampa, spreading to the rest of Florida by January.

Higher Medicare Premiums for Higher-Income Seniors For first time in its history, Medicare's premiums will be "means-tested."

GAO Faults Medicare Help Lines Call center personnel are giving consumers wrong or incomplete answers, report charges.

Severely Disabled Still Stranded Without Medicare Coverage Measure to speed delivery of desperately needed care languishes in Congress.

Medicare Scams Feared As Deadline Approaches May 15th deadline may be used to pressure seniors into buying bogus coverage.

Medicare Drug Plan: Big Win or Big Flop? It depends on who you ask.

Congress Turning Against Seniors? Alliance for Retired Americans vows to oust anti-senior politicians this fall.

"$299 Scam" Exploits Medicare Drug Plan Confusion Scammers try to extract $299 to enroll seniors in non-existence Medicare drug plan.

NY Consumer Group Challenges Medicare Enrollment Numbers Medicare Rights Center says federal numbers don't add up.

Scam Targets Seniors with Phony Medicare Plan Scam artists in Northeast offering fictitious "lifetime Medicare coverage."

States' Suit Challenges Medicare Drug Plan Feds unlawfully shifting expenses to states, suit charges.

AARP Wants Changes in Medicare Rx Plan Wants government to help control drug prices.

New Medicare Drug Benefit Descends into Chaos Frail seniors unable to fill prescriptions as complex drug benefit program gets under way.

Medicare Drug Benefit: For Good or Ill? Medical researchers differ on whether Medicare Part D will help or harm the elderly.

Medicare Drug Benefit: For Good or Ill? Medical researchers differ on whether Medicare Part D will help or harm the elderly.

Disappointing Reponse to Medicare Part D Only 660,000 of an estimated 4.6 million eligible senior citizens have signed up for the confusing new plan.

Lawsuit Says New Medicare Program a "Calamity" for Poorest Americans Transition may leave millions of the oldest, poorest and sickest without vital drugs.

Deciphering the New Medicare Drug Program It's not easy to understand but the new Medicare prescription drug program could save you big bucks.

Medicare Premiums and Deductibles Rising "Part B" premiums and deductibles going up at same time seniors face new premiums for drug program.

Canada Threatens to Ban Prescription Drug Exports May require Canadian doctors to examine Americans in person before writing prescriptions.

Seniors Try to Decipher Complex Medicare Changes Poll finds increasing support for Medicare changes but many seniors are still in the dark about the details.

Seniors with Limited Incomes Should Apply for Medicare�s Extra Help New prescription assistance program starts in January 2006.

Feds Side With Whistleblower In Caremark Case Pharmacy benefits company allegedly chiseled Medicaid.

Medicare Adopts New Wheelchair, Scooter Criteria New standards expected to weed out fraud and abuse.

Consumers Fear a Medicare Drug Debacle Little information as deadline for new Medicare drug plan nears.

Medicare Enrollment Delays Costly to Seniors, Study Finds Complexity and confusion create lifelong losses.

Toad Outsmarts Medicare Representatives A government study finds Medicare representatives give the wrong answer 96% of the time. In a controlled experiment, a toad was right 50% of the time.

Medicare Help Line Falls Short, GAO Finds Provided accurate answers only 61 percent of the time.

Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries at Congress' Mercy Program that pays monthly premiums for disabled and low-income beneficiaries expires Nov. 20.

State Regulators Object to Medicare Hard Sell Feds using sales techniques that state insurance commissioners object to.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers Scrutinized Do PBMs put profits before patient health and safety?

FDA Finds Problems in Reimported Drugs Some drugs were not manufactured in the United States and had been subject to Canadian recall.

Medicare To Cover More Defibrillators Nearly 500,000 Medicare patients expected to be eligible for $25,000 implants.

Illinois Sues Medicare Discount Card Scammers Canadian telemarketers scammed elderly residents looking for prescription savings, state charges.

Medicare Site Adds Price Comparisons Seniors can compare costs of similar drugs used for a specific condition.

Record Increase in Medicare Premiums Higher charges may push more elderly into Medicare HMOs.

Drugmaker Admits Claritin Kickback Scheme Pacificare and CIGNA got discounts at taxpayers' expense.

Medicare Removes Barriers to Treating Obesity Treatments must be scientifically shown to be effective to be covered.

Pfizer Will Offer Deep Discounts to Uninsured Drug giant's move puts pressure on others to follow.

Medicare Drug Card Enrollment Nears 4 Million Bush Administration still resisting automatic enrollment.

Drug Prices Rise; Medicare Bill Blamed AARP report sees sharp increase in prescription drug prices following passage of Medicare drug discount bill.

Medicare Discount Cards Still Frustrating Medicare offices swamped with calls, Web visits from puzzled seniors.

Scam Artists Target Medicare Drug Cards Complaints in Illinois, Massachusetts cause concern.

Automatic Enrollment in Medicare Drug Plan Urged Low-income families eligible for drug assistance program may not otherwise apply in time, report finds.

U.S. Demand for Drugs Would Overwhelm Canada, Study Warns Texas researcher says Canada's drug supply would last only 38 days if U.S. opened floodgates.

Task Force Hears Testimony on Drug Reimportation "It's only a matter of time before a horrific tragedy occurs involving imported drugs," researcher warns.

Medicare Boosts Payments to HMOs HMOs provide more care at less cost, HHS claims but critics call program a giveaway to insurers.

Retirees Underestimate Health Care Costs Seniors wrongly assume Medicare and employer health plans will pick up the tab.

Confusion, Clamor Surround Medicare Roll-Out Seniors confused, critics say drug savings minuscule.

Medicare Web Site: Not the Whole Story Medicare Rights Center says government site omits some data, gets others wrong.

Medicare Discount Card Sign-Up Looms Seniors can sign up starting Monday, May 3.

Medicare Drug Discount Sign-Up Starts in May Seniors confused by interim plan.

Novartis Launches Drug "Giveaway" Will give popular blood-pressure drug to seniors until Medicare benefit kicks in.

Senate Bill Would Allow Drug Re-Importation Grassley's measure would give FDA 90 days to implement re-import program.

New Medicare Tools for Choosing Drug Discount Cards HHS struggles to meet May deadline.

Long-Term Care Premium Hikes Surprise Policyholders "Guaranteed" premiums increase as much as 50 percent.

Medicare Picks Drug Discount Card Providers 28 companies approved to compete for prescription discount business.

Medicare Wheelchair Rules Faulted Denying wheelchairs causes unnecessary pain and suffering, Medicare Rights Center charges.

Seniors Warned About Phony Rx Discount Card Scams Door-to-door scam artists reported in 11 states.

Long-Term Medicare Costs "Staggering," Report Finds "Unfinanced promises" of the Medicare and Social Security programs could eventually total more than $50 trillion

Senate Will Develop Drug Import Plan McClellan Approved to Run Medicare & Medicaid

Medicare Actuary Says He Was Muzzled Claims true cost of Medicare drug benefit is "much higher" than $400 billion figure given to Congress.

Thompson "Could Support" Reimportation of Drugs From Canada HHS Secretary tells Congress he would need adequate budget to ensure safety.

Minnesota Pension Fund Blasts Pfizer Demands that Pfizer ends blockade of Canadian pharmacies selling to Americans.

Pfizer Cuts Off Two Canadian Drug Wholesalers Canada won't be "held hostage," drug officials warn.

Illinois Couple Sues U.S. Over Drug Reimportation FDA Commissioner named to chair year-long study; critics howl.

Cronkite Denounces Medicare Changes Former news anchor narrates consumer group video critical of new law.

McClellan Named to Head Medicare White House hopes FDA head can quell controversy over new Medicare law.

Pfizer Cuts Off Selected Canadian Pharmacies Drug companies escalate battle over reimportation.

Medicare Ads Draw Fire "Educational," Administration says. "Propaganda," say opponents.

Cancer Drugs, Wheelchairs on Medicare's Cutback List Widespread fraud leads to tighter scrutiny of wheelchair claims.

Public Citizen Calls for Ethics Investigation of Tauzin Did powerful Congressman negotiate his next job while writing Medicare bill?

FDA Warns Texas Companies to Stop Reimporting Drugs Companies are contractors to city of Montgomery, Ala.

PhRMA To Lobby Against Legalization of Reimportation Claims Canada increasingly buys drugs from developing countries.

Institute of Medicine Calls for Universal Health Insurance 18,000 die unnecessarily each year, report finds.

Health Savings Accounts Empower Consumers Funds not spent on health care can be saved for retirement.

National Health Plan Could Save Billions in Paperwork: Study Harvard researchers say U.S. spends $286 billion on health-care billing.

Medicare Maneuvering Resumes Next Week Congressional Democrats vow to amend just-passed measure.

Boston Moves Ahead with Rx Reimportation Cities, states refuse to take "no" for an answer.

Seniors' Big Drug Problem Older Americans take so many prescription drugs that serious complications are an increasing threat.

Prescription Drug Reimportation Battle Looms States, cities agitating to buy cheaper drugs in Canada and elsewhere.

FDA Wants Couriers, Credit Card Issuers to Betray Prescription Drug Reimporters Agency wants FedEx, UPS, Visa, et al, to "rat" on Canadian clients.

Fewer Choices in Medicare Bill Than Some May Have Expected Medigap insurance outlawed under new benefit.

Top Medicare Official Jumps Ship Washington insiders shocked at rapid exit of Medicare bill architects to private "consulting" posts.

The New Medicare: What It Means for Consumers and Caregivers It's no longer one-size-fits-all.

AARP Looks Towards Boomers in Supporting Medicare Rx Bill Organization faces generation gap, tilts towards boomers.

Medicare Rx Bill Stalled as Time Runs Out Congress eyes Nov. 21 adjournment.

Court Orders Rx Depot to Close Nationwide chain imports drugs from Canada.

Medicare Deadline Passes Without Action Congress still optimistic it will pay Medicare "reform."

Illinois Governor Wants Canadian Drugs Cash-challenged states pressing for imports of cheaper Canadian drugs.

Doctors Group Calls for Single-Payer National Health Insurance System Critics say Canadian-style plan introduces long waits, holds back technology.

Medicare Conferees Begin Negotiations Committee faces difficult task, deep divisions evident.

Agreement on Medicare Drug Benefit Proves Elusive Bush ponders third rail principle.

Congress Must Decipher Rival Medicare Rx Bills White House wants agreement quickly but GOP leaders urge caution.

AstraZeneca Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud Drug company defrauded Medicare and Medicaid to tune of $40 million.

Kennedy Angers Allies, Supports GOP Drug Bill Congress set to pass historic legislation this week. Much tinkering lies ahead.

Medicare Restructuring Dead For Another Year Both parties racing to enact prescription drug benefit instead.

Medicare Caps Sneak Up On Seniors New caps on payments for physical, speech and occupational therapies.

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