Recent reports from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) examine how key health care investments in the House’s draft budget reconciliation bill, the Build Back Better Act, would advance health and racial equity for people with Medicare, their families, and the population […]
This week, Medicare Rights joined with Justice in Aging to create a fact sheet showing how gains in Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) would be a good thing for people with Medicare and the Medicare program. As Congress debates increasing funding for HCBS in the budget reconciliation bill, we […]
Last week, the House Committees with purview over Medicare—Ways & Means and Energy & Commerce—finished marking up their sections of the “Build Back Better” budget reconciliation bill. Given their shared jurisdiction, the committees considered similar health care provisions. As outlined below, they advanced several of Medicare Rights’ priorities independently and […]
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has released a timely exploration of the costs facing people with Medicare for dental, hearing, and vision services and what coverage options they may have. Troublingly, their options are limited and their costs are high—beneficiaries in both traditional Medicare and in Medicare Advantage (MA) have […]
On September 9, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report identifying ways to lower prescription drug prices, in compliance with a July 2021 executive order. In part, HHS urges Congress to cap Part D beneficiary costs, noting that “With no cap on out-of-pocket spending in […]
The “Medicare & You” handbook for 2022 is now available and it reflects improvements Medicare Rights and many of our partner organizations have been urging for years. The handbook is an official government publication that is distributed to millions of homes each year to provide people with up-to-date information about […]
The Medicare Trustees recently issued their long-awaited 2021 report, finding the program’s financial status largely unchanged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Released annually, the Trustee’s Report contains short- and long-term projections for Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund, out of which Part A benefits are paid, and the Supplementary Medical Insurance […]
As Congress works toward a potential deal that might expand access to benefits within Medicare, it is important to step back and see why such benefits matter. In many ways, Medicare’s approach to health coverage is a remnant of its 1965 origins. At that time, many benefits we now consider […]
