Biden proposes new taxes on rich to help fund Medicare
The proposed hike would likely increase tax revenues by more than $117 billion over 10 years, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center.
Medicare
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Health care bills aim to reform insurance, Medicaid reimbursement rates
A slew of health care bills moving through the legislature target high prices for Hoosiers by encouraging competition and restructuring how the state pays for services under Medicaid.
Feds expect to collect $4.7B in insurance fraud penalties
Federal watchdogs have been sounding the alarm for years about questionable charges on the private version of the Medicare program, with investigators raising the possibility that insurance companies may be bilking taxpayers of billions of dollars every year.
Unorthodox primary care provider ChenMed entering Indy market
The fast-growing, family-owned operation, based in Miami, has filed plans with the state to renovate three buildings and open them as primary care medical clinics.
55 Indiana hospitals facing fines for excessive readmissions
The number is down from 62 hospitals last year and 66 the before, but will still cost many hospitals money while they are still dealing with the strain of the pandemic that has overwhelmed resources and reduced their revenue and profits.
Kathie Mancini: Eligible for Medicare? Here’s what to consider when choosing a plan
Health care can be expensive, so picking the right insurance plan that meets your individual or family needs can be critical to maintaining a balanced budget.
Dems seek more taxes from higher earners to protect Medicare solvency
Under the latest proposal, people earning more than $400,000 a year and couples making more than $500,000 would have to pay a 3.8% tax on their earnings from tax-advantaged businesses called pass throughs.
Indiana ranked seventh in nation for hospital charge disparities
A new study released Thursday by the Rand Corp. showed that Hoosiers covered by employer health plans paid Indiana hospitals nearly three times—or 292%—of what Medicare would have paid for the same procedures.
Med-tech startup Prevounce, a newcomer to Indy, has big growth plans here
Prevounce Health, which launched in 2019 in Los Angeles, relocated its operations to Indianapolis last fall and just landed $4.5 million in investment funding which the company says will help it expand and double its workforce in coming months.
Lilly says it will push ahead on Alzheimer’s drug
The push by Eli Lilly and Co. will come despite an unfavorable ruling last week from Medicare that sharply restricts reimbursements for a drug in the same class.
Medicare weighs premium cut after limiting Alzheimer’s drug
Thursday’s coverage decision illustrates the impact that a single medication can have on the budgets of individuals and taxpayers.
Medicare opens up access to free at-home COVID-19 tests
Starting in early spring, up to eight free tests will be available each month to people who have Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient benefit, which about 9 in 10 enrollees sign up for.
Medicare limits coverage of $28,000-a-year Alzheimer’s drug
Medicare officials stressed Tuesday that they did not take cost into account in the coverage decision, but rather whether Aduhelm is “reasonable and necessary” for treating Alzheimer’s patients enrolled in the program.
Medicare told to reassess premium hike caused by Alzheimer’s drug
U.S. health secretary Xavier Becerra on Monday ordered Medicare to reassess a big premium increase facing millions of seniors this year, attributed in large part to a pricey new Alzheimer’s drug with questionable benefits.
Biden pledges savings on insulin, other drugs for Americans
The biggest policy change—a system for Medicare to negotiate prices for prescription drugs—won’t begin to deliver lower costs until 2025, and then only for a selected set of 10 medicines, as well as insulin products.
Hospitals face big fines for frequent readmissions
For the 10th straight year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is using the pressure of lower reimbursements to get hospitals to improve their numbers and cut down on the revolving door of readmissions.
Democrats scramble to get a drug-price compromise
The compromise would allow Medicare to negotiate some prescription drug prices but significantly scale back Democrats’ earlier ambitions.
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.
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.