With an estimated 10,000 people aging into Medicare every day— and more than 56 million currently enrolled in the program—the need for clear, accurate, and accessible Medicare information grows unabated. The Medicare Rights Center works diligently to address this need nationally through its counseling, education, and advocacy programs, and especially serves the communities surrounding its home base in New York City with dozens of Medicare presentations each year.
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Dear Marci,
I am new to Medicare. My income and assets are on the low side and I’m having difficulty paying for my prescription drugs. A neighborhood counselor told me about Extra Help. Do you think this is something for me?
– Stefano (Rock Springs, WY)
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Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released new estimates for the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which was passed earlier this month in the U.S. House and is currently under review in the U.S. Senate. The new numbers are not much different from previous estimates. CBO continues to show that […]
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This week, President Trump released his proposed budget for the 2018 fiscal year, which includes drastic cuts to essential services for people with Medicare, their families, and caregivers.
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At the Medicare Rights Center, we count on our 60 highly trained volunteer helpline counselors to help us answer thousands of questions for people with Medicare, their families and caregivers, and the professionals who serve them. To ensure that our volunteers provide expert counseling and assistance, we provide numerous training sessions throughout the year to keep them informed and up to date about the complexities of Medicare.
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The Commonwealth Fund released a report this week examining out-of-pocket expenses for people with Medicare. Fifty-six million people—17% of the U.S. population— rely on Medicare and receive many benefits from the program, yet, Original Medicare excludes coverage for dental, vision, hearing, and long-term services, and contains no ceiling on out-of-pocket costs for covered services. As a result, beneficiaries can be exposed to high costs.
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This week, a bipartisan bill was reintroduced in Congress that aims to curb rising pharmaceutical costs through transparency. Senators John McCain of Arizona and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, along with Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, introduced the FAIR Drug Pricing Act in response to reports that prescription drug spending continues to skyrocket as pharmaceutical companies hike their prices, often multiple times a year and without warning.
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A recent article on Next Avenue, a PBS website, highlights an often-overlooked aspect of the American Health Care Act’s proposed cuts to the Medicaid program—how these cuts would affect the millions of people with Medicare and their families who depend on Medicaid covered services.
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Dear Marci,
I just looked at my mother’s latest Explanation of Benefits, and her equipment supplier is continuing to bill Medicare for a knee CPM machine that my mother rented after a fall, but has since returned. Should I look into this further, both to protect my mother and to avoid scamming Medicare?
– Karen (Rock Springs, WY)
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With the House passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) last week, Congress is one step closer to making radical changes to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and Medicare that will put millions of Americans at risk of losing affordable health care. The AHCA ends Medicaid as we know it, eliminates insurance protections, raises premiums on older Americans, damages employer-based coverage, and undermines Medicare.
Now, Senate Republicans are weighing what’s next for the AHCA, which makes it all the more important to make your voice heard. Here are five things everyone can do to join the fight to protect our care.
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