Surer footing for Medicare

Former health and human services secretary Michael Leavitt was incorrect in calling the Affordable Care Act’s Medicare reforms an “illusion” ["The wrong prescription for Medicare," Washington Forum, Aug. 27].
It’s no illusion to the seniors and people with disabilities who will pay less for prescription drugs, to the [...]

2,000 groups approved for ‘early retiree’ health-care claims

Nearly 2,000 employers and unions have been approved to seek federal reimbursement for the health claims of their “early retirees,” or retired workers aged 55 or older who are too young to get Medicare, Obama administration officials announced Tuesday.
The $5 billion program is a key “bridge” provision of the new health-care law, intended to encourage [...]

White House Touts Medicare Rebates

Stepping up a concerted, election-year effort to highlight aspects of the big health care law enacted earlier this year, the Obama administration on Monday announced that more than one million Medicare beneficiaries had received $250 rebate checks as part of the provision to close the gap in prescription drug coverage known as the doughnut hole.
The [...]

The Medicare reform illusion

Despite the report from Medicare’s trustees this month that the hospital insurance trust fund will not be depleted until 2029, 12 years later than was predicted just last year, Medicare is no better off than it was a year ago.
The administration credits Medicare’s seemingly healthier financial outlook to changes made by the [...]

AARP Report Fuels Debate Over Drug Pricing; AHIP, PHRMA, NCPA And PCMA Join In

A new report by AARP’s Public Policy Institute, which concluded that prices for Medicare’s most commonly used brand-named drugs dramatically increased in 2009, has prompted debate among several players in the health care sector. An insurance industry source says AARP’s finding that drug prices increased by 8.3 percent in 2009 is [...]

Putting the Brakes on ObamaCare

Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute
How a Republican Congress could begin the process of repealing this unpopular law.
If Republicans take control of one or both houses of Congress this fall, many will have been elected with a promise to “repeal and replace” ObamaCare. But what are their options, [...]

AARP Says Brand-Name Drug Prices Up 8% in 2009

A new report on retail prices of brand-name drugs shows the 217 products most used by older Americans increased by an average of 8.3 percent during 2009, the largest increase in years, even as inflation was negative.
Over the last five years, according to the report to be released on [...]

Sebelius, Baucus rebuked in Mont. over health care

LIBBY, Mont. — Instead of saying thanks, some residents rebuked Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Max Baucus on Monday for the very law that could help potentially thousands of asbestos victims here.
The health care reform law passed last year expands Medicare coverage for the sick residents of Libby, where years of asbestos pollution from [...]

CMS Lets Drug Makers Access More Data Under Final Coverage Gap Discount Agreement

CMS responded to drug makers comments about the Coverage Gap Discount Program manufacturer agreement in an Aug. 3, 2010 memo, obtained by Inside Health Policy, and will allow drug makers greater access to prescription drug data, but not to the extent industry had asked for. CMS also said in the document that the sole exception [...]

Obama promotes health overhaul

President Barack Obama on Saturday credited the health care overhaul with extending the solvency of Medicare and delivering new benefits and savings to senior citizens — a group of voters that remains deeply skeptical of the new law.
“We’ve made Medicare more solvent by going after waste, fraud, [...]

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