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Summary of Key Changes to Medicare in 2010 Health Reform Law . This brief provides a detailed look at the improvements in Medicare benefits, changes to payments for providers and Medicare Advantage plans, various demonstration projects and other Medicare provisions in the law. It includes a timeline of key dates for implementing the Medicare-related provisions in the law.
Massachusetts is the first state to finalize a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to test CMS's capitated financial alignment model for beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, with enrollment beginning on April 1, 2013. Starting in 2013, CMS will implement a three-year multi-state demonstration to test new service delivery and payment models for people who are eligible for both federal health programs. Massachusetts' demonstration…
The report, based on an analysis of Hewitt Associates' client database, presents new trend data on the prevalence of retiree health coverage sponsored by large employers and finds a continued erosion of retiree health benefits. The report also includes findings from a new survey assessing how large employers might change their retiree health programs in the future, and on their reaction to the Administration's proposal to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. The Hewitt…
This report, Medicaid Managed Care for Persons with Disabilities: A Closer Look, presents an overview of the findings and summarizes the results of the case studies of Medicaid managed care programs that enroll persons with disabilities in four states: Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, and New Mexico. This report also draws from the findings of the 1998 national survey of state practices (Publication #2114) and focus groups of low-income disabled individuals (Publication #2152). This report addresses the…
Cindy Mann, senior fellow of the Commission, testified to the Senate Subcommittee on Public Health of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on how to sustain and expand health care coverage for low-income children and families, and disabled and elderly people in these challenging times. TESTIMONY Download
This report examines a Medicare-based approach to reducing the ranks of the uninsured that would permit early retirees between the ages of 62 and 65 to purchase coverage under Medicare. The paper begins with an overview of the challenges of insuring the near-elderly and explores the potential effects of a Medicare buy-in on coverage of this population. The authors conclude that, unless premiums for such coverage were low or tied to enrollees' income, this approach…
Medicaid's Role for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries An overview that identifies low-income Medicare beneficiaries (dual eligibles), how Medicaid can provide care for them, and the challenges to accessing care. Fact Sheet
Medicaid coverage substantially improves access to health care and lessens the financial burden of medical care for low-income seniors, but the program currently reaches only half of all poor Medicare beneficiaries. This report presents findings of focus groups with low-income seniors in an effort to understand barriers to enrollment for those who are eligible for Medicaid but who are not enrolled in the program, and to learn about the experiences of low-income seniors who are…
This report focuses on Oregon's experience in moving their disabled Medicaid beneficiaries into managed care. It is one of a series of reports from The Kaiser/Commonwealth Low-Income Coverage and Access Project. This project examines how changes in the Medicaid program have affected health insurance coverage and access to care for hte low-income population in eight states: California, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas. Report
This data spotlight examines changes in the availability and premiums of private Medicare Advantage options for Medicare beneficiaries in 2010 as the annual open enrollment period begins. While the number of plans available in 2010 declined somewhat from 2009, the analysis finds that Medicare beneficiaries on average have 33 Medicare Advantage plans to choose from. For Medicare Advantage enrollees who stay in the same plan in 2010, monthly premiums will increase by 32 percent on…
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