Susan Jaffe

The cost of services and therapies, and their ability to pay worries older adults most. (Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters)

Dodging the Medicare Enrollment Deadline Can Be Costly

December 9, 2023 at 6:19 a.m.

Angela M. Du Bois, a retired software tester in Durham, North Carolina, wasn’t looking to replace her UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan. She wasn’t concerned as the Dec. 7 deadline approached...

About half the people eligible for full Medicare benefits are enrolled in the private plans, attracted by their lower costs and enhanced benefits like dental care, hearing aids, and a host of nonmedical extras like transportation and home-delivered meals. (TETRA IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES)

Feds rein in use of predictive software that limits care for Medicare Advantage patients

October 5, 2023 at 11:22 a.m.

Judith Sullivan was recovering from major surgery at a Connecticut nursing home in March when she got surprising news from her Medicare Advantage plan: It would no longer pay for...

Nursing Home Surprise: Advantage plans may shorten stays to less time than Medicare covers

October 5, 2022 at 6:35 a.m.

After 11 days in a St. Paul, Minnesota, skilled nursing facility recuperating from a fall, Paula Christopherson, 97, was told by her insurer that she should return home.

Medicare Surprise: Drug Plan Prices Touted During Open Enrollment Can Rise Within a Month

May 3, 2022 at 1:08 p.m.

Even the savviest Medicare drug plan shoppers can get a shock when they fill prescriptions: That great deal on medications is no bargain after prices go up.

Three groups of Medicare patients who were switched from inpatient to observation status after Jan.1, 2009, will be able to file appeals for nursing home coverage and reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs. (iStock /Getty Images)

Medicare patients win the right to appeal gap in nursing home coverage

January 28, 2022 at 12:33 p.m.

A three-judge federal appeals court panel in Connecticut has likely ended an 11-year fight against a frustrating and confusing rule that left hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries without coverage...

Under new cost-cutting Medicare rule, same surgery, same place, different bill

March 24, 2021 at 6:52 a.m.

A cost-saving change in Medicare launched in the final days of the Trump administration will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures while potentially raising costs and confusion for...

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