For quite some time now, older adults with certain health conditions have been told to take a daily dose of baby aspirin in order to ward off heart disease. A panel of independent experts at the US...
Diane Archer
How to pay less for your hospital care
If your income is low, you might be able to pay less for your hospital care. Among the many elements of the Affordable Care Act is a requirement that nonprofit hospitals provide financial assistance...
Medicare Open Enrollment: Don’t trust insurance agents
It’s Medicare Open Enrollment season from October 15 through December 7, and you should be reviewing your Medicare plan options to make sure you continue to get the coverage you want at the...
Medicare Advantage: What are we paying extra for?
There’s a lot that we don’t know about Medicare Advantage, the part of Medicare that is administered by private health insurers. But, one thing we do know is that Medicare Advantage is...
Don’t judge a Medicare Advantage plan by its stars
When you examine your Medicare plan options during this year’s open enrollment season, do not judge a Medicare Advantage plan by its stars. The government’s star-rating system is deeply...
Older adults in US face high cost-related barriers to care
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund finds that cost is a large barrier to care for older adults in the US, larger than it is for older adults in 10 other wealthy countries. Consequently, many...
MedPac: High drug prices mean higher Medicare spending
Not only are drug prices rising at the pharmacy for people with Medicare, but drug prices are rising for hospital inpatients as well. MedPac, the agency that oversees Medicare, says rising drug...
New study finds no benefits to Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid...
A new study that looks at the value of taking vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplements supports earlier findings that routine use of these supplements has little if any value for healthy people...
Increase in antibiotic resistance affecting older adults
A new study in Clinical Infectious Diseases finds that an increase in antibiotic resistance is affecting older adults, reports Modern Healthcare. The federal government needs to step in and protect...
OIG finds Medicare Advantage continues to overcharge government
The HHS Office of the Inspector General once again reports on huge Medicare Advantage overcharges to the federal government. It’s pretty clear at this point that Medicare Advantage...