Changes for private organizations offering Medicare

Obama has made changes for the private health care organizations offering Medicare. Some of the changes are:

- winnowing the number of versions of a plan that insurers can offer
- protecting patients with chronic diseases from excessive co-payments
- banning a practice by some plans that can add even more to the costs of brand-name drugs

For the full story, read the article here.

Medicare Advantage cuts to come

Medicare Advantage Plan suppliers will be receiving cuts in the amount of payments they receive. The privately run programs that offer government health plans provide healthcare for roughly 10 million of 44 million senior citizens. In its current state, the government pays $1.30 for each Medicare Advantage plan holder as opposed to $1.00 for each person enrolled in Medicare through the government. For more, read the article here.

What stimulus package could mean for health care

With the House and the Senate working this week with the stimulus bill proposed by Barack Obama, many changes could come about for health care in the United States. One of the biggest is that newly unemployed individuals would be eligible for Medicaid.

Other incentives proposed with the $117 billion proposed for health care spending:

•$87 billion dollars to help states pay the costs of Medicaid, which provides medical care for the poor and disabled.

•$29 billion to help the unemployed pay for private insurance.

•$20 billion to implement new healthcare technologies, such as electronic medical records, aimed at improving care and cutting costs.

For more on the recent proposal, read the article here at the Christian Science Monitor.

Private Plans for Medicare that Cover Dental Care

This post on AMPSYS discusses how Medicare does not cover dental care, but there are ways around this. There are many private plans for Medicare that do offer such coverage for dental expenses. Some of these private plans include the basic Medicare coverage, and also offer savings in eyeglasses, hearing devices, and dental care as well. The post gives an example of how Humana pays for about 25 percent of fillings, 75 percent of the cost of examinations, cleanings and X-rays, and 50 percent of extractions.