Income test for Medicare dental under debate, gets pushback
The so-called “means test” is drawing internal opposition from many Democratic lawmakers, as well as advocacy groups for older people, like AARP.
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Lilly CEO says letting Medicare negotiate drug prices would bring research cuts
“A cut [in drug prices] like is being proposed would have about a 40% reduction in our U.S. revenues,” Lilly CEO David Ricks said in a television interview this week with Gerry Dick on Inside Indiana Business, a division of IBJ Media.
Biden calls for action to reduce prescription drug prices
President Joe Biden stepped up his battle over drug costs on Thursday, calling on Congress to pass legislation that would let Medicare negotiate directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers and penalize drugmakers that increase prices faster than inflation.
Medicare copays for new Alzheimer’s drug could reach $11,500
Separately, Dr. Aaron Kesselheim of Harvard University became the third member of an FDA advisory panel that opposed the drug to step down over the decision to approve it.
Study: Indiana ranks sixth in nation in hospital charge disparities
A new study released Friday by the Rand Corp. found that Hoosiers covered by employer health plans paid Indiana hospitals three times what Medicare would have paid for the same procedures, exceeding the national rate of disparity.
Dem report says Medicare chief Verma used fed money to bolster image
A Health and Human Services Department official called the report on Seema Verma a “political smear” by “far left politicians.” Before she headed to Washington, Verma was a consultant to former Gov. Mike Pence and designed the Healthy Indiana Plan.
Pandemic puts small hospitals in peril over Medicare advance payments
Indiana’s weakest and often smallest hospitals, usually with just a few dozen beds, might be only months from beginning the process of shutting their doors, industry leaders say.
Two dozen Indiana hospitals to be fined for high rates of infections, patient injuries
Twenty-four Indiana hospitals will be docked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—the highest number since the program began six years ago.
Feds accuse Community Health of submitting false claims to Medicare
The Justice Department said the financial arrangements were outlined in a whistleblower suit brought by Thomas Fischer, who served as Community Health’s CFO from 2005 until his sudden exit in 2013. In a separate suit, Fischer claimed he was fired in retaliation for questioning possibly illegal practices.
House passes bill to empower Medicare to negotiate drug costs
The legislation has no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate, and the White House has issued a veto threat. Still, Democrats saw a victory in the message their bill sends to voters.
Pelosi sets Medicare showdown on drug costs, new benefits
As a hammer to force companies to negotiate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would impose steep sales taxes on the medications at issue. Overall, budget analysts estimated the legislation would cut industry revenues by $500 billion to $1 trillion over 10 years.
Medicare drug plan finder can steer seniors to higher costs
As open enrollment goes into the home stretch Thanksgiving week, critics say the new tool can create confusion by obscuring out-of-pocket costs that seniors should factor into their decisions.
Source: White House finds Pelosi drug plan ‘unworkable’
President Trump is instead backing a bipartisan bill that would for the first time limit what seniors have to pay out of their own pockets for medications.
Warren pledges no middle class tax increase in $20T health care plan
Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s plan is built on transferring to the government 98% of the $8.8 trillion she estimates that employers will spend on private insurance for their employees.
Trump, Pelosi still working on drug-pricing deal despite impeachment drama
President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could hardly be more at odds—but behind the scenes, they’re still grasping at a bipartisan deal to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
Overhaul proposed for decades-old Medicare fraud rules
The regulations are now seen as an obstacle to progress because Medicare has put a premium on coordination among care providers. The complex requirements of the original rules can have a chilling effect on hospitals and doctors working together, officials say.
Doctors don’t always know what patients will owe for meds
While the price of almost any good or service can be found online, most Americans don’t know what they’ll owe for a prescription medication until they get it.
Popular Medicare Advantage plans come under fire
Regulators say the insurance industry has been annually overbilling the government by billions of dollars, and now the federal government is stepping up moves to recoup money.
Medicare to cover pioneering cancer treatment nationwide
The treatment costs $375,000 or $475,000, depending on whether it is used for advanced lymphoma or pediatric leukemia. Hospital stays can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of care.
Drug cost bill advances but GOP resistance could spell trouble
A prescription drug compromise that would lower costs for Medicare recipients and save billions for Medicare and Medicaid cleared a key hurdle in the Senate on Thursday.