Contraceptive Use in Medicare Varies by Enrollment Type
Contraceptive use among Medicare enrollees — including among beneficiaries of childbearing age who are on Medicare due to a permanent disability — varies greatly depending on whether they’re enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) or traditional Medicare, researchers reported. Use of contraceptives was higher among MA enrollees compared with those in traditional Medicare, with significant variation […]
Many Medicare Patients Travel 50-Plus Miles for Neurology Visits
Nearly one in five Medicare beneficiaries who saw a neurologist traveled long distances for their office visit, 2018 cross-sectional data suggested. Out of over 563,000 Medicare beneficiaries with a neurologist visit that year, 17% traveled 50 miles or more one way for care, reported Chun Chieh Lin, PhD, MBA, of Ohio State University in Columbus, […]
Sickle Cell Disease Patients Miss Out on Decades of Life
A cohort study of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with sickle cell disease (SCD) showed a life expectancy of just 52.6 years, well below that of the general population. And among SCD patients, survival varied by sex and insurance status. Men, individuals covered by Medicare for disabilities or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and the dual-eligible were […]
Medicare Beneficiaries Need More Help Navigating the Program, Experts Say
More needs to be done to help Medicare beneficiaries — especially low-income beneficiaries — navigate their participation in the program, several experts said Friday. “Low-income Medicare beneficiaries navigate complex and fragmented sources of insurance coverage … not just within Medicare, between the choice of a Medicare Advantage plan or traditional Medicare, but also from the […]
Report: Medicare Advantage Plans Wrongly Deny Care, Physician Payments
Medicare Advantage plans often denied medically necessary care to beneficiaries and payments to doctors that met Medicare coverage rules, according to a new report from the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG). OIG found that 13% of prior authorization requests that were denied met Medicare coverage rules, as did 18% of physician payment requests […]