The public is fed a lot of misleading information about health care prices. Contrary to popular myth, health care “competition” does not bring down prices. In fact, health care prices...
Diane Archer
Congress must reduce out-of-pocket costs for people with Medicare
Earlier this month, “the Medicare team” inside the federal government sent an email inviting millions of us to mark our calendars for the Oct. 15 start of a 54-day period to enroll in Medicare...
2021: Medicare drug price negotiation appears a long shot
It has been 32 years since Senator David Pryor, then Chair of the Senate Aging Committee made the case for government negotiation of drug prices because Americans were facing a “crisis of...
Will health insurers stop Congress from reducing their Medicare...
When health insurers lobbied to be able to offer Medicare benefits, they claimed that they could deliver more at a lower cost. But, years later they continue to cost significantly more per enrollee...
Should you be taking aspirin every day?
When it comes to health care, everyone needs options tailored to their particular needs. That’s the beauty of traditional Medicare–it is one size fits all, working for everyone, so long...
Daily use of baby aspirin can present greater risks than benefits
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...
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...