Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services

In rugged, rural areas, patients often have little choice about how they'll get to the hospital in an emergency. "The presence of private equity in the air ambulance industry indicates that investors see profit opportunities," a 2017 report from the feder

Wyoming Wants To Use Medicaid To Reduce Air Ambulance Bills For All Patients

12:57pm August 23, 2019

by Markian Hawryluk

Frustrated with sky-high bills from air ambulance companies, Wyoming hopes to hammer down those charges with more regulation. The companies say such a proposal undermines free enterprise.

If a doctor is found to be ordering too many MRI or CT scans or other imaging tests for Medicare patients, a federal law is supposed to require the physician to get federal approval for all diagnostic imaging. But the Trump administration has stalled the

Health & Safety

Trump Team Hits Brakes On Law That Would Curb Unneeded Medicare CT Scans, MRIs

11:05am August 09, 2019

by Phil Galewitz

Critics worry that the administration's delays come at a steep cost: Medicare continues to pay for millions of unnecessary exams and patients are being subjected to radiation for no medical benefit.

"As deductibles rise, patients have the right to know the price of health care services so they can shop around for the best deal," says Seema Verma, who heads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and announced the Trump administration's plan this

Health & Safety

Trump Team's Bid To Make Hospital Costs More Transparent Is Data-Heavy

5:00am July 31, 2019

by Julie Appleby

The administration's rules would require hospitals to provide far more detail about the actual prices they charge insurers for medical care. Would patients welcome the data, or feel overwhelmed?

Medicare Advantage plans, administered by private insurance companies under contract with Medicare, treat more than 22 million seniors — more than 1 in 3 people on Medicare.

Health & Safety

Medicare Advantage Plans Overbill Taxpayers By Billions Annually, Records Show

3:08pm July 16, 2019

The federal government wants to deploy several new tools for catching insurers that have overcharged Medicare $30 billion in the past three years alone. But the insurance industry is balking.

Over the past decade, hospitals have been rapidly building outpatient clinics or purchasing existing independent ones. It was a lucrative business strategy because such clinics could charge higher rates, on the premise that they were part of a hospital. M

Hospitals Chafe Under A Medicare Rule That Reduces Payments To Far-Flung Clinics

5:00am April 23, 2019

by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez

Hospital-owned clinics that are miles away should be reimbursed at the same rates as an independent doctor, but not more, Medicare says. That new rule could save taxpayers $380 million in 2019.

Both Democrats and Republicans have introduced proposals that would impose a cap on out-of-pocket costs of prescription drugs for Medicare patients. But it's still unclear whether those moves will gain a foothold.

Medicare's Uncapped Drug Costs Take A Big Bite From Already Tight Budgets

9:10am March 27, 2019

by Michelle Andrews

Unlike many private health plans, Medicare has no cap on out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs in Part D. As the cost of specialty drugs rises, some Medicare patients owe thousands of dollars.

Republican lawmaker Allen Christensen is pushing a bill in the Utah Senate that would shrink the Medicaid expansion his state's voters approved. "They are not obligated to balance the budget," he argues. "We are."

Utah Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion, But State Lawmakers Are Balking

7:07pm February 08, 2019

by Erik Neumann

Political fights over health care continue to flare. In Utah, angry voters say lawmakers are disregarding their wishes by trying to limit the scope of a ballot referendum that expanded Medicaid.

Queue Listen Now

Children of Mexican immigrants wait to receive a free health checkup inside a mobile clinic at the Mexican Consulate in Denver, Colo., in 2009. The Trump administration wants to ratchet up scrutiny of the use of social services by immigrants. That's alrea

Fear Of Deportation Or Green Card Denial Deters Some Parents From Getting Kids Care

7:40am January 26, 2019

by Ashley Lopez

A Texas girl needs autism treatment, but her immigrant mother is afraid of turning to Medicaid. As more U.S. children go without health coverage, border watchers partly blame politics of intimidation.

If you earn too much to get a subsidy to help defray the cost of health insurance, you might find a less expensive policy off an exchange.

Health & Safety

Feds Urge States To Encourage Cheaper Health Plans Off Insurance Exchanges

11:09am August 14, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

The government suggests that insurers offer plans off the health law marketplaces that don't have surcharges added last year to make up for a cut in federal funding.

Cashiers, cooks, delivery people, fast-food workers and their supporters rallied outside New York City Hall in 2017. Their influential union, the Service Employees International Union, also includes about half a million home health aides.

Medicaid Officials Target Home Health Aides' Union Dues

5:00am August 09, 2018

by Shefali Luthra

The Trump administration has proposed a rule that would prohibit some home health workers from having union dues deducted from their paychecks. The rule would likely undercut unions' power, all agree.