Last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released an issue brief on private contracting—also sometimes referred to as balance billing. The brief explains existing rules that determine what health care providers can and cannot charge their Medicare patients. It also summarizes proposals to relax these rules, allowing doctors to set any price they choose for services and to require people with Medicare to sign contracts to pay above Medicare approved amounts in order to receive care. This proposal has been in the news recently as one of its champions is Congressman Tom Price, the nominee for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

For years, Medicare Rights has encouraged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans publish provider directories that are accurate and easily available to people with Medicare. Last week, CMS announced findings from a review of 54 MA organizations showing widespread inaccuracies in MA provider directories published online. According to the review, around 45% of the provider directory locations listed in these online directories were inaccurate.

This week, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Foundation and Actuarial Research Corporation (ARC) released a new study on the impact of raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67. The study compared two hypothetical situations.

Last week, Medicare Rights partnered with Justice in Aging and the Center for Medicare Advocacy to defend access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities. Together, we wrote a letter urging Congress not to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a viable and simultaneous replacement that provides American families with equal or improved access to high-quality, affordable health coverage.

65 national organizations signed the letter which details the risks a repeal and delay strategy poses for millions of Americans. We all agree: No older American or person with a disability should be made worse off by a vote to repeal the ACA.

Last week, we discussed how Congress introduced a budget resolution that began the process to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Last night, that budget resolution passed the U.S. Senate. Next up is the House of Representatives, who are expected to pass it easily on Friday. Because a budget resolution is not a law, it does not need to be signed by the President.

This week, Congressional Republicans introduced a budget resolution laying the groundwork for repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—with no replacement in sight. This process uses a set of rules called “reconciliation.” Through budget reconciliation, the majority party in Congress can advance policies through a simple majority vote. But only provisions that are budget related are permitted to be included.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) recently released a new report on the effects repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could have on Medicare, both for federal spending and for beneficiaries.

KFF identifies several key provisions in the ACA that have a direct impact on Medicare. These provisions include improvements to Medicare benefits, reductions to health care provider and Medicare Advantage (MA) plan payments, increased revenues for the Medicare Trust Fund, incentives to reform the way care is paid for and delivered, and more.

This week, the Urban Institute (the Institute) released a brief discussing the impact of enacting the same partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) advanced by Congressional Republicans in 2016. This repeal (H.R. 3762), using the legislative reconciliation tool, was vetoed by President Obama, but it is widely believed that President-Elect Trump would be likely to sign an identical bill.

This week, the Medicare Rights Center submitted a response to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) request for comment on Enhancements to the Star Ratings for 2018 and Beyond in advance of the draft 2018 Call Letter. The proposed changes are intended to tweak the measures and methodology of the star rating system to better capture performance, including changes to the way audit and enforcement actions affect star rating results.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Medicare Part B premiums for 2017. Starting January 1, most people with Medicare will see a small increase in their Part B premium, from $104.90 to an average of $109.00 per month. But about 30 percent of people covered by Medicare will see a minimum Part B premium of $134.00, a 10 percent increase from the minimum 2016 premium of $121.80.