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Brady, McDermott Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Combat Medicare Fraud
Today, Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Ranking Member Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced the Protecting the Integrity of Medicare Act (PIMA) of 2014. The legislation reforms Medicare’s anti-fraud programs and emphasizes preventing fraud, waste, and abuse…
American poverty is getting worse, not better
When I read Grace Grogan’s column, “Our compassion for children at risk ought to begin at home” I came away with the feeling that this was a one-dimensional view of a multidimensional problem. First, understand that the billions of dollars in…
Social Security Could Bite the Dust Within a Decade
The Heritage Foundation has published a handy graph that illustrates with alarming degree just how quickly Social Security is going bankrupt. And it may be just a decade away from insolvency. According to a new study by Heritage Foundation fellow…
Medicare Tightens Non-Emergency Use Of Ambulances To Combat Fraud Lisa Gillespie, Kaiser Health News
Seniors living in three states will need prior approval from Medicare before they can get an ambulance to take them to cancer or dialysis treatments. The change, which begins today, is part of a three-year pilot to combat extraordinarily high rates…
Retirement Myths and Realities
Continued from last month… 3. Medicare will pay all my medical bills You may presume that when you reach age 65, Medicare will cover most health-care costs. But Medicare doesn’t cover everything. Examples of services generally not covered by traditional…
“High” earners will be subject to additional Social Security payroll taxes
Effective January 1, 2015, employees designated as “high” earners will be subject to additional Social Security payroll taxes. The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimated that close to 10 million workers will pay more for the coming year due to an…
Agencies host event to help farmers and markets accept modern food stamps
Federal and state agencies are hosting a merchant sign-up day Thursday for farmers and farmers markets interested in accepting payments from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, recipients and related grants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food…
The lull before the lull
When it comes timeouts, few organizations in America can touch Congress. The lame duck Congress returns to work today. It is also scheduled to be in session Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It will take Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off to…
Disability crunch at the VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it is working hard to restore standards of service at its hospitals. One area that needs attention, though unlikely to receive it, is the costly way the VA classifies service-related disabilities. Congress and the…
Improved quality of Medicare plans and steady premiums are great news
Fall is a wonderful time of year. Changing leaves. Cooler weather. It’s also the season for people with Medicare to review their current Medicare coverage, as Medicare Open Enrollment begins. As we prepare for Medicare Open Enrollment, which began on…