Sunset Provision for Social Security and Medicare? – Part 2
In last week’s post I started to discuss clauses found in some laws that are called “sunset provisions”. They are essentially expiration dates for a law. We’ve seen them in estate tax laws. The current federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to “sunset” in 2025, unless Congress votes to extend. The key here is
Medicare Open Enrollment Time
While I don’t spend much time here talking about Medicare issues, the end of the year is an important time. That’s because it is Medicare’s open enrollment period, a once a year special event. Medicare is one of the many government programs that can be confusing. There are so many different options
More Numbers for 2021
Last week I talked about some of the important Medicaid and VA numbers that will increase in 2021. This week we’ll review some more adjustments for 2021 in some of the other government programs and taxes relevant to our clients. Medicare Part B premiums will increase slightly next year. Most people pay the standard
Covid Medicare Coverage
What we know about the Coronavirus is that seniors are at a higher risk of serious illness than younger age groups. So how has Medicare, the primary health insurance program for Americans over 65, responded?
Medicare Decision – 6 Years Later
I wrote about this decision here six and a half years ago. (Blog posts 3-25-13 and 4-1-13) The case is Jimmo vs. Sebelius and it corrected the misapplication of Medicare rules concerning coverage for rehabilitation services and therapy. The standard that had been applied for many years was whether the
Shifting Drugs from Medicare Part B to Part D
A few months ago President Trump announced a plan to lower prescription drug costs under Medicare by moving coverage of certain expensive drugs from Medicare Part B to Part D. Part B is the medical benefit that was part of the original Medicare law passed by Congress in 1965.
Update on Social Security and Medicare
The federal government has issued annual updates on the financial soundness of Social Security and Medicare, stating that each government benefit program will run out of money within the next 8 to 16 years or so. Here’s the latest news. For the first time since
New Medicare ID Cards
In an effort to prevent fraud, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has redesigned Medicare cards. The cards are still red, white and blue but they will no longer contain a Social Security number, gender, signature and other personal information, all of which could compromise the Medicare
An Update on an Important Medicare Decision
In 2013 I wrote on this blog about an important court decision that impacted many seniors discharged from hospitals to subacute facilities for rehabilitation. (See my posts on March 25 and April 1, 2013.) Up to 100 days of rehabilitative services are covered by Medicare but many seniors receive
The Importance of a Good Medicare Supplemental Policy (Part 2)
Last week I was telling you about a call I received from Mary. Her husband, John had a heart attack which led to other medical complications. Long story short he had been in the hospital for 4 months and was now close to exhausting his Medicare coverage under Part