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Retirement savings in the US grow across all age groups
Six years ago, the stock market crash and ensuing Great Recession left millions of Americans unemployed and unable to contribute to any type of savings plan. The good news: In the years since, retirement savings have bounced back by some…
Top Tax Tips For Retirees
You’d think that filing taxes would get easier over time but unfortunately for retirees this just isn’t the case. In fact, many retirees will face additional hurdles in their tax filing as a result of new sources of income and…
Big retirement fear: Outliving your savings
Almost half (46%) of investors in this country are worried they will outlive their savings in retirement, a new survey shows. In fact, 36% of retired investors and 50% of investors who aren’t retired are concerned they will run out of…
Insurers vying for Obamacare business signal healthy exchange markets
More insurers will compete for consumers’ business on the exchanges during the second year of Obamacare enrollments. The number of insurers selling products on the state and federal exchanges will increase by at least 25% for 2015, the CMS announced Tuesday. There will be 77…
Teens and Social Media: Advice from Doctor Mom
“Are you totally over Facebook?” A colleague of mine uses that question to get teens to open up about the social media sites they visit. Most of them do use Facebook, but Twitter, Instagram, Kik, and many other sites foreign to parents…
How To Fix Medicare? Ask The Public
Washington is full of ideas to overhaul Medicare. Some would increase the program’s eligibility age, others would charge higher-income beneficiaries more for their coverage. There’s movement to link payment to the quality — rather than the quantity — of care delivered. Marge Ginsburg decided to ask ordinary…
Improving job market complicates push to renew unemployment benefits
Democrats, and even some Republicans, are going to try to extend emergency unemployment benefits during the lame-duck session in November and in the 114th Congress that starts in January. But with long-term unemployment falling rapidly, it may be too late. Congress…
Medicare gives first glimpse of ACO quality performance
The CMS for the first time publicly released individual performance data for Medicare accountable care organizations on 33 measures of healthcare quality. The results for 220 of the participants (PDF) in the Medicare Shared Savings Program reveal how ACOs performed on measures (PDF) of patient experience,…
How to pick the right Medicare drug plan
If you’re about to enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan for the first time – or if you’re thinking about changing plans during Medicare’s open-enrollment period – you’ll be facing a daunting number of options. The Kaiser Family Foundation, a…
ACOs, other delivery reforms shift job roles at hospitals
Phoenix obstetrician Megan Cheney no longer makes hours of telephone calls on Thursday nights to report routine results of laboratory tests to waiting patients. The calls, however, still get made every week. A medical assistant with experience in obstetrics and…