This week, the Medicare Rights Center submitted a letter of strong support for the Medicare Affordability and Enrollment Act of 2016. Introduced this fall, this bill would cap beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket expenses in Traditional Medicare; eliminate coverage gaps associated with Part B enrollment mistakes; reduce cost-sharing for low-income beneficiaries; increase eligibility for income-dependent programs; and modernize the Medicare enrollment system to facilitate easier enrollment, begin coverage earlier and reduce arbitrary late-enrollment penalties that today are paid for a lifetime.

A new set of issue briefs by the Center on Aging at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) highlights the growing complexities facing thousands of people each day as they become eligible for Medicare. One of the briefs, Medicare Enrollment Maze Puts Older Americans at Risk for Financial Penalties and Coverage Gaps, examines a relatively recent trend where the age of Medicare eligibility and the age of retirement have moved further apart.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently suspended a policy known as seamless conversion, a practice that allows select insurers to auto-enroll newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries in an issuer’s commercial or Medicaid managed care product into one of the same company’s Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. In light of recent inquiries, including from the Medicare Rights Center, CMS decided to temporarily halt the acceptance of all new seamless conversion proposals from plans.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) recently released an issue brief analyzing the 2017 prescription drug (Part D) plan offerings based on recently released data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The key findings in KFF’s analysis come at an important time as millions of people with Medicare are weighing their plan choices during Fall Open Enrollment, which lasts from October 15 to December 7.

This week, the Medicare Rights Center released a new brief on the complexities of knowing when to enroll in Medicare Part D and the consequences of making mistakes. The brief, Medicare Snapshot: Stories from the Helpline, Part D Enrollment: Penalty Pitfalls, reports on a recurring issue heard on the Medicare Rights national helpline.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced Part D plan participants for a new demonstration, the Enhanced Medication Therapy Management Model, that seeks to strengthen Medication Therapy Management (MTM) services in Part D. In 2003, the Medicare Modernization Act was enacted, creating the Part D program and requiring every Part D plan to offer an MTM program. MTM programs are meant to improve quality of care by ensuring people are taking their medications safely and as prescribed, addressing any barriers to their doing so, and bringing any medication issues to the attention of the treating physician. CMS claims that these activities can also create cost savings.

A new bill, the Fair Drug Pricing Act, was introduced in both the Senate and the House this month promising to bring greater transparency to increases in drug prices.

A new Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) issue brief analyzes when people with Medicare make changes to their Medicare Advantage and Part D coverage. The paper highlights beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage (MA-PDs) who change plans when given the opportunity.

As Medicare Fall Open Enrollment approaches, the time of year from October 15 to December 7 when people with Medicare can make changes to their coverage, the Medicare Rights Center submitted feedback and suggestions about a critical tool in making these decisions—the Medicare.gov Plan Finder.