CHICAGO (Reuters) – The COVID-19 pandemic has put a bright spotlight on weaknesses in many of the systems designed to protect Americans from risks. But with older people more susceptible to serious illness and death from the virus, the problems in our Medicare... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – In what now seems like a galaxy far, far away, Republican lawmakers routinely talked up the idea of raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. In fact, we were in that galaxy just three years ago. A higher Medicare age was an awful... More »
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Mark Miller CHICAGO (Reuters) – The cost of Medicare is going up next year – way up. Federal officials announced late last week that the standard monthly premium for Medicare Pa... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. presidential contender Elizabeth Warren’s $20.5 trillion plan to provide healthcare for all Americans was attacked on the weekend by Republicans and fellow Democrats and parodied on “Saturday Night Live,” the long-running network te... More »
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Friday proposed a $20.5 trillion Medicare for All plan that she said would not require raising middle-class taxes “one penny,” answering critics who had attacked her for... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Medicare experts often advise enrollees to re-shop their plan coverage during the annual fall open enrollment period. This is the time when you can make unlimit... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – When Medicare prescription drug insurance was created in 2003, the idea that beneficiaries with very high drug costs should pick up 5 percent of the tab seemed reasonable – but that was well before specialty drugs were invented that carry p... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Insurance companies do not need any help marketing Medicare Advantage plans – just ask anyone over age 65 about the pitches that clog their mailboxes every year during the fall enrollment period, or check out the television ads that flood c... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) Navigating Medicare can be complicated, but one big change recently introduced requires that you do absolutely nothing beyond opening an envelope. In fact, doing just ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – In September, the federal government will mail a handbook on Medicare enrollment to 43 million households. “Medicare & You” is an important, authoritative source on a wide array of plan options for the annual enrollment period that runs fro... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) Americans do not agree on much these days, but we are united on the cost of medicine. Large majorities of Republican, Democratic and independent voters say they would ... More »
FILE PHOTO: Traders work at the post where UnitedHealth Group is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Thursday proposed an increase o... More »
Senior citizens stand after receiving makeovers and beauty care at a beauty salon of Jacques Janine, to boost her self esteem, an event organized by Projeto Velho Amigo NGO with 90 women that live at nursing homes, in Sao Paulo, Brazil November 27, 2017. REUTE... More »
U.S. retirement savers dodged a speeding train last week when Republican lawmakers racing toward tax reform dropped their plan to sharply reduce allowable tax-deferred contributions to 401(k) plans. That idea is off the table - at least for now. More »
Forewarned is forearmed - and for U.S. seniors, the warning just arrived in the mail. More »
CHICAGO, April 21 Older patients want to talk with their doctors about how they will die, but are doctors ready to have the conversation? Medicare began reimbursing physicians in January for time spent discussing their patients’ end-of-life wishes. While 95 pe... More »
