Latest News
Medicare Spending Is Slowing: $9 Billion Windfall for Taxpayers
The movement away from fee-for-service medicine toward accountable care in Medicare may get a boost from fresh numbers from the Congressional Budget Office showing spending on the health insurance program for the elderly slowing dramatically. The Congressional Budget Office last week issued a…
Cost growth projected to climb; can ACA initiatives slow it down?
The U.S. economy’s lackluster recovery from the Great Recession eroded wages and left millions chronically unemployed. But it also gave the nation a break from rapidly rising healthcare spending. Now, though, medical spending is likely to resume its growth, fueled by the…
Virginia Mason to offer warranties on hip, knee replacements
Patients who undergo routine hip or knee replacements at Seattle’s Virginia Mason Medical Center, and their employers, now can worry less about paying twice if surgical complications occur. That’s because the hospital has decided to offer a warranty to privately insured patients on…
Phased retirement to be worth more to some than others
The value of phased retirement will vary according to a federal employee’s retirement system, with those in the older of the two main programs benefitting more, all other things being equal.The difference was illustrated in recent Office of Personnel Management…
It’s annual coverage check-up time for Medicare users
The end of summer is filled with changes. Kids go back to school and thoughts turn to the pleasant days of fall and, for Medicare users, the end of summer signals that Medicare’s Annual Coordinated Election (open enrollment) will soon…
Why VA claims exploded and ways to slow the trend
America’s population of living veterans fell by almost five million, or 17 percent, from 2000 to 2013. So why did the number of veterans drawing disability compensation climb by 55 percent over that period? And why has yearly VA disability…
The Retirement X Factor: Longevity
Deciding when to take retirement benefits is a tough decision based on several complicated factors, among them life expectancy. A recent study by the Census Bureau shows that we are indeed living longer and that though women still outlive men,…
Gov Info Security: SSNs on Medicare Cards: Is End Near?
While the current Congress is often criticized for accomplishing little, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health is floating draft legislation in an attempt to do something about Medicare and Medicaid fraud, abuse and waste. The proposal calls for moving forward…
What You Need to Know About Social Security Disability If You Have Ovarian Cancer
Your doctor at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has already given you your diagnosis, treatment plan, and prognosis. You know how ovarian cancer is affecting you now, and you can predict what your future is probably going to…
Seniors boost number of veterans deemed unemployable
Jack Behunin received welcome news last year from the Department of Veterans Affairs: Due to war-related medical conditions, he was being declared unfit to work, boosting his tax-free monthly disability compensation from $1,850 to $3,000. Not that he had any…