By Mary Johnson, editor The fate of President Obama’s controversial executive action on immigration remains tied up in court. The potential long-term financial impact of the actions on Social Security and Medicare rem ...
Category: Issues
Social Security & Medicare Questions: July 2015
After Surgery What Can I Do About Unexpected Bills? Q: I’m new to Medicare and recently had surgery. I’ve received several unexpected bills, including one for $1,100 from the anesthesiologist. I thought these costs w ...
An Obamacare Repeal Would Increase Beneficiaries’ Part D Costs
A total repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known to most as “Obamacare,” forms a key component of budget plans recently passed by the U.S. House and Senate. But so far there’s been little discussion about the negati ...
Social Security’s “Most Gruesome Fraud Management Failures”
Mary Johnson Unreported deaths undoubtedly rank as the Social Security Administration’s number one “Most Gruesome Fraud Management Failures.” Hardly a month goes by without the discovery of a grizzly new case. Usually ...
Benefit Bulletin: June 2015
Good News Or Bad? More Medicare Beneficiaries Qualifying For Medicaid The number of Medicare beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid has been growing rapidly in recent years. The Centers for Medicare and Medi ...
Social Security & Medicare Questions: June 2015
Q: My prescription drug plan denied coverage on a medication to control a severe chronic health problem. Over the years I’ve tried other treatments but they are either ineffective, or had dangerous side effects, and I ha ...
Odds Are Growing For Zero COLA In 2016
The plunge in gasoline prices, in recent months, sent the consumer price index (CPI) into a nose-dive. That deflation is expected to make a big dent in the Social Security income of 56 million people next year, according ...
How Social Security Can Be Strengthened Without Cutting Benefits
In the debate over Social Security’s funding, much of the debate has focused on benefit cuts. A recent survey by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), however, shows that benefit cuts aren’t supported by a lar ...
Two Major Ways Obama Immigration Action Could Impact Federal Benefit Programs
A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked President Obama’s immigration program that defers deportation for almost 5 million illegal immigrants. Responding to a lawsuit filed by 26 states, the judge did not rule on th ...
Dear Patient, In Medicare’s Effort To Improve Quality, The Doctor Won’t See You Now
By Mary Johnson The Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a bold new model to save money and improve healthcare quality by changing the way the government pays doctors. The Administration ...
Close