Headlines
Let’s talk about Medicare
October is “Talk About Prescriptions Month” and marks the beginning of this year’s Medicare open enrollment period. It’s the perfect time to talk about Medicare prescriptions and the Extra Help available from Social Security. Newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries and current…
Medicare shortfall demands attention
At Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, there was recently a gathering of major healthcare public policy experts, senior staff of congressional health committees, and people concerned about both the health of Medicare and the health of the nation’s fiscal situation. It…
Social Security and You: Seen any Martians lately?
About 40 years ago, a national organization conducted a poll of people in their 20s and asked them this question: “In the future, do you think you are more likely to see a Martian or to see a Social Security…
OK to Limit Medicare Provider Choices, but Don’t Cut Benefits
Mindful of the possible political consequences, as a rule, elected officials avoid making difficult decisions about Medicare, so one group of researchers decided to grant participants in a series of focus groups that authority to see what they would decide. The…
Modernize Disability Benefits So People With Disabilities Can Work
So much of our society has changed over the past 60 years. We have made tremendous progress in technology, medicine, education — and in the recognition that all people must be treated equally. Why is it, then, that we continue…
It happens: Seniors with student debt – and smaller Social Security checks
It’s a rude awakening for a growing number of seniors: They file for Social Security, then discover that the federal government plans to take part of their benefit to pay off delinquent student loans, tax bills, child support or alimony. This…
Protecting Medicare Part D From Government Intervention
It’s no secret that President Obama’s healthcare law continues to struggle despite the administration touting eight million sign-ups and 13 million people getting coverage during the first enrollment season. The administration is still struggling to get millennials to sign-up – the…
What Social Security Will Look Like When You Retire
Social security isn’t going away, but what it will look like when you retire will depend on your age. Talk abounds that the social security coffers would be empty for people who are in their thirties or forties, but many financial…
Why Social Security Is Not a Ponzi Scheme
When Social Security’s trustees issued their recent report on the financial health of the program, they said the trust funds that support Social Security were on track to run out of money by 2033. Absent a change in the law, when those trust…
Medicare experiment rewards better health care at a lower cost
David Krueger regularly saw the waste and inefficiency in the health care system while working as an emergency physician. It might be as simple as patients who came to an emergency department because they could not get in to see their…