This week, Medicare Rights submitted comments requesting that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) withdraw a proposal to explore requiring prior authorization for home health care services. These services include home-based skilled nursing and therapy care for people with Medicare who are homebound, meaning they are unable to leave their home without difficulty.
The dynamic CEO of AARP, Jo Ann Jenkins, encourages everyone over 50 to become much more active in defining self-image, personal motivation, health care goals, and wealth/asset management. In Disrupt Aging: A Bold New Path to Living Your Best Life at Every Age, she challenges the outdated beliefs that older people should slow down, take it easy, and become passive and accepting.
An Explanation of Benefits (EOB) is a notice that your Medicare Advantage Plan typically sends you after you receive health care services or items. EOBs are usually mailed once per month and may be available online. An EOB is not a bill; it is a summary of services or items you received.
Each plan formats its EOB differently, but in general your EOB should tell you:
The Medicare Rights Center’s unique blend of direct service and policy advocacy work is spotlighted in a recent report by Mathematica Policy Research, which describes and assesses the Consumer Voices for Coverage (CVC) initiative. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and co-led by Community Catalyst, CVC’s overarching goal at its inception in 2007 was to build strong consumer health advocacy networks that would advocate for increased levels of health insurance coverage in states and nationally. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, CVC changed its focus to support state and local efforts to inform eligible individuals about new insurance options.
