Dive Brief: A new report by the HHS Office of Inspector General indicated that inpatient hospital stays have become more expensive to the Medicare program, even before the COVID-19 pandemic began to severely disrupt the U.S. healthcare system a year ago. HHS OIG analyzed Medicare Part A claims for inpatient stays from fiscal year 2014… Read More »
Dive Brief: Privately insured patients pay 247% more at hospitals on average than Medicare patients for the same care, according to a new study by nonprofit think tank RAND. The study, based on 2018 data, shows the gap is increasing from 2017 and 2016, which saw disparities of 230% and 224%, respectively. If private payers had… Read More »
More than two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries find their insurance confusing and difficult to understand, according to a recent survey by MedicareAdvantage.com, which also revealed that many don’t grasp basic insurance terminology. The study sample included 1,000 respondents enrolled in Medicare and took place over August 17 to 19. Participants were quizzed about topics ranging from… Read More »
January 17, 2020 Posted By Categories Gary Schwitzer is the founder and publisher of HealthNewsReview.org. He is struggling to be an informed Medicare enrollee. He tweets as @garyschwitzer or @HealthNewsRevu. Since I’ve started writing more about Medicare now that I am more learned and experienced with the program as a person of that age group,… Read More »