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Medicare’s observation status is a financial black hole for families
A FEW months after my mother’s 95th birthday, she fell in her Bellevue home and hit her head, requiring stitches and blood transfusions. She has not been the same since. She had to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary with her husband,…
Curb your enthusiasm about those Medicare savings
Contrary to some media reports, the Medicare monster hasn’t been tamed. But it has been made a little less unruly. To be precise: Spending is regularly falling below projections, creating the prospect of hundreds of billions of savings over decades.…
CMS delays dialysis center five-star rating system
The federal government will wait until January to roll out its five-star rating system meant to help consumers compare quality at dialysis centers and is reevaluating the timeline for extending it to hospitals and home care providers. Use of the…
State senator says Minnesota must prepare for ‘age wave’; Eken proposes extending Social Security tax on high earners
Minnesotans are getting older, and the cost of caring for seniors and the disabled is going to rise fast. The state needs to act now to get ahead of the coming “age wave” by providing a stable funding source to pay…
Reform Update: Using expansion dollars for health plans may be costly, GAO says
Allowing states to use federal Medicaid expansion dollars to buy low-income adults private health plans on the federal insurance exchange may cost the federal government significantly more than if those states simply expanded their traditional Medicaid programs, the Government Accountability Office reported (PDF). The GAO said…
Citizens Choice, A Medicare Advantage Health Plan, Purchased By Alignment Healthcare USA
Alignment Healthcare, an emerging health care services company based inOrange County, California, has purchased Citizens Choice Health Plan, a California Medicare Advantage plan which has been in business since 2006. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The purchase has been…
What Medicare does and doesn’t cover
Medicare helps pay for a wide variety of medical services and goods in hospitals, doctors’ offices and other health-care settings. But it doesn’t cover everything, and it’s useful to know what is and isn’t included. Services are covered either under Medicare…
New disability access signs hit a glitch in Merriam
Merriam city officials thought they were being progressive when they agreed to modernize the familiar disability parking symbol to a more dynamic image. And Ikea thought it was being a good corporate citizen by embracing the new symbol and even painting…
Not too late for Gen Xers to save for retirement
Gen X workers are on a collision course with retirement, but they still have time to take action to get back on track. That’s the conclusion of a recent report released by the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS), which defines…
With store now defunct, woman having problems getting motorized scooter repaired
Leah Aviel may be in a wheelchair, but she doesn’t let it slow her down.“I go to school,” said Ms. Aviel. “I go to the doctor. I go to temple. I visit friends. My life is not just in this…