Fewer Medicare Advantage Plans Receive High-Quality Ratings

Fewer Medicare Advantage Plans Receive High-Quality Ratings

There are fewer Medicare Advantage plans receiving high-quality ratings for their 2021 offerings than for this year's.  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has reported that 49% of 400 Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage received four stars or more (the maximum is five), compared to 52% in 2020. Also, there are fewer people enrolled in plans that will have four or five stars in 2021.  The star ratings measure the quality of service enrollees receive and are based on actual experience of seniors with their plans.  The CMS rates Medicare Part C plans according to hundreds of specific…

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Executive Orders Take Aim at Medicare Drug Costs, More

Executive Orders Take Aim at Medicare Drug Costs, More

President Trump in late September issued three executive orders that would affect Medicare outpatient drug prices, protect people with pre-existing conditions from health insurance pricing discrimination and end surprise billing.The main, and most substantive, order would fix prices that Medicare pays for outpatient and pharmacy-sold pharmaceuticals to the lowest prices offered in comparable developed countries.The Trump administration had announced in July that it would release an order on Medicare outpatient drug prices pending negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry. But after those talks failed to yield the results the administration had hoped for, the president decided to release the latest version…

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The SECURE Act Eliminates the ‘Stretch IRA’ – Here’s What to Do

The SECURE Act Eliminates the ‘Stretch IRA’ – Here’s What to Do

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) eliminates the stretch IRA for most non-spouse beneficiaries, beginning with deaths in 2020.That means many taxpayers should look at revising their estate plans. Here's why. New IRA rulesPrior to the SECURE Act, which was a tax measure signed into law in December 2019, the law allowed heirs to "stretch" IRA distributions over their entire life expectancy. This means you could theoretically leave a large IRA to a grandchild, for example, and the distributions could be spread out over decades. This provided a significant tax deferral benefit for younger…

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The Lesser Known Features of Long-Term Care Insurance

The Lesser Known Features of Long-Term Care Insurance

Buyers of long-term care insurance often focus on just the coverage basics, such as the level of daily benefits, length of coverage and under what conditions the policy will pay a claim. While these basics form the chassis of the policy, long-term care policies offer a host of other options that may prove beneficial to the policyholder.  Let's take a look at some of these available options: Survivorship premium waiver - If both spouses obtain long-term care policies from one insurer, some policies will provide a waiver of all remaining premiums if one spouse dies within a certain number of years…

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Medicare’s Annual Enrollment

Medicare’s Annual Enrollment

As Medicare Open Enrollment Nears, Here Are the Changes Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period begins Oct. 15. and runs through Dec. 7. This is the time to reassess your Medicare plans.  As you get started, you should ask yourself: Am I satisfied with my current plan? Am I comfortable maintaining it for another year? Are the medications I need in my plan's formulary next year?   How much can I expect to pay for my medications next year? If you are a current Medicare recipient, you should have receive your Annual Notice of Change from your Advantage plan or pharmaceutical plan…

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Seniors Flock to Four-Star Medicare Drug Plans

Seniors Flock to Four-Star Medicare Drug Plans

Medicare enrollees are flocking to Medicare Part D prescription drug plans with ratings of four or higher, according to a new report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The report found that the percentage of Medicare enrollees in four-star Part D plans for 2020 will grow to 27.6%, compared with just 3.5% in 2019. Likewise, the percentage of Medicare enrollees in four-star or greater Medicare Advantage Part C plans with prescription drug coverage will grow to 81.1% in 2020, from the current 75.3 % (the figure was just 69% in 2017). The average rating of Part D…

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Medicare Set-asides: The Next Major Workers’ Comp Cost Driver

Medicare Set-asides: The Next Major Workers’ Comp Cost Driver

As America's workforce gets older, it will have a significant impact on the cost structure of the workers' comp system due to requirements that insurers set aside large sums for medical outlays covered by Medicare. That's because the costs of claims involving injured workers who are near or older than retirement age tend to skyrocket. This issue could be the next major cost driver in workers' comp as more baby boomers, nearing retirement age, opt to stay in the workforce. Federal law requires that Medicare approve claims settlements of $25,000 or more for injured workers who are Medicare beneficiaries, who…

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Executive Order to Pave Way for Medicare Changes in 2020

Executive Order to Pave Way for Medicare Changes in 2020

Medicare changes in 2020 may be coming as President Trump recently announced an executive order that gives Medicare recipients more access to innovative and affordable plan options, as well make it easier to find physicians that take new Medicare patients. The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to write new regulations and take administrative actions that would encourage Medicare Advantage insurers to offer plan designs with innovative new options like telemedicine services and supplemental benefits that plans do not currently offer. Under the executive order, HHS has a year to introduce new regulations and guidance and take…

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