If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan and have ever sought pre-authorization for a recommended medical procedure, you know the pre-authorization process can be time-consuming and too often, unsuccessful. Intended to make sure medical procedures are truly necessary,…
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On October 12, the final numbers were released for 2024. Here they are: Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 3.2% raise in 2024. This translates to an additional $59 per month for the…
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Inflation appears to be losing steam. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the inflation rate was 4.9% in April 2023, the smallest increase since April 2021 and the first increase below 5% in two years. This trend is good…
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Our office frequently receives calls from adult children whose parents have entered or are about to enter long-term nursing care. Accustomed to Medicare covering their parent’s medical bills, they now face a frightening fact: Medicare will not cover their parent’s…
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The nationwide Public Health Emergency (PHE) brought about by the Covid pandemic is scheduled to end on May 11, 2023. It has been renewed every 90 days since it was first declared in March 2020. The end of the Public…
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If you are enrolled in original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage program, the time has arrived: Medicare Open Enrollment period kicks off October 15 and runs through December 7. During this period you can make certain changes to your coverage….
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And they said it couldn’t be done! Medicare enrollees will begin seeing savings next year and beyond thanks to The Inflation Reduction Act. Passed after years of negotiation, and along strict partisan lines in the Senate on July 21 and…
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The Medicare general enrollment period ended March 31, 2022, but some people who missed the deadline are getting more time. One signs up for Medicare through Social Security. Social Security field offices were shuttered for many months, having re-opened only…
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Will Medicare continue to cover the cost of virtual visits with your doctor? The answer is yes – at least temporarily. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, effective March 15, 2022, extends telehealth services for an additional 151 days following the end…
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A decade-long class action lawsuit, Barrows v. Becerra, has finally ended, with the outcome a win for Medicare beneficiaries who find themselves hospitalized as “observation” patients. Observation status means you are not well enough to be discharged from the hospital…
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