I found this on USA Today:
Medicare said Tuesday that it will pay for three forms of an expensive surgery to treat obesity, so long as the patients are treated in “high-volume centers that achieve low mortality rates.”
The move comes after device makers, surgeons and some patient advocates urged the agency to create a uniform national […]
This is from MarketWatch:
Text of President Bush’s radio address for Feb. 11, 2006
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Today I want to talk to you about the new Medicare prescription drug coverage that went into effect on January 1st of this year.
When I came into office, I found a Medicare system that was antiquated and not meeting […]
Story and following information found at The LA Times:
I was defeated by the new Medicare drug program.
The weapon used against me was Medicare’s “plan finder,” a website that churns out a list of private Medicare drug plans, along with their estimated annual costs, based on the prescriptions the user types in. The website then […]
I found this on Bloomberg:
Older Americans who wait until after May 15 to enroll in the U.S. Medicare drug plan may have to pay extra fees for the rest of their lives, said consumer advocacy groups seeking to extend the deadline.
Under a 2003 law, the premium costs that Americans pay to receive the new […]
From NPR:
aving failed to convince Congress to overhaul Social Security last year, President Bush in his budget for fiscal 2007 is taking on an even more politically difficult task — slowing the growth in Medicare.
The administration’s budget actually proposes cuts to a wide variety of health programs, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]
The long awaited Medicare Prescription Drug Plan finder has finally been launched. It can be found here.
With a limited amount of information (Medciare Claim Number, Last Name, Date ofBirth, etc.) the program is supposed to be able to determine the available plans in your area, then further narrow them down by the plans that […]
According to The Detroit News:
With the starting date for the federal government’s new Medicare prescription drug plan approaching, the program has begun randomly enrolling beneficiaries who are also on Medicaid into approved drug plans.
Medicare last week began sending beneficiaries letters telling them which plans they have been assigned to effective Jan. 1. The action affects […]
Terry Savage of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote an article answering some of the questions he hears most frequently about Plan D. I found it quite useful, so I’m reposting it here for you:
Q. Is there an income limit to apply for Part D?
A. No, Medicare Part D is meant for everyone who is Medicare […]
From The Heritage Foundation:
Katrina relief and recovery could cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in additional spending, driving up deficits, but still the costly new Medicare drug entitlement is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2006. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says that, in light of Katrina, America’s taxpayers cannot afford this massive […]
http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=1061050XSL_NEWSML_TO_NEWSML_WEB.xml
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. announced today that it has formed an alliance with Walgreens Health Initiatives, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreen Co., for Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans (PDP). WellCare will make educational information available to Walgreens customers at pharmacy counters in each of Walgreens more than 4,950 retail locations nationwide. Those […]