Medicare

New & Noteworthy

What to Know About Medicare Coverage of Telehealth

Congress has repeatedly extended pandemic-era flexibilities around Medicare coverage of telehealth, but most such flexibilities remain temporary. This brief answers key questions about the current scope of Medicare telehealth coverage, including both temporary and permanent changes adopted through legislation and regulation, and future policy considerations.

Examining the Potential Impact of Medicare’s New WISeR Model

A federal initiative to establish new prior authorization requirements in traditional Medicare, called the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model, is likely to have only modest impact in its first year.

State Profiles for Dual-Eligible Individuals

This data collection draws on Medicare and Medicaid administrative data to present national and state-level information on people who are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid, referred to as dual-eligible individuals (also known as dually-enrolled beneficiaries).

Data Visualization

The Facts About Medicare Spending

This interactive provides the facts on Medicare spending. Medicare, which serves 67 million people and accounts for 12 percent of the federal budget and 21 percent of national health spending, is often the focus of discussions about health expenditures, health care affordability and the sustainability of federal health programs.

Explore data on enrollment growth, Medicare spending trends overall and per person, growth in Medicare spending relative to private insurance, spending on benefits and Medicare Advantage, Part A trust fund solvency challenges, and growth in out-of-pocket spending by beneficiaries.

Related: FAQs on Medicare Financing and Trust Fund Solvency

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  • Why We Are Stuck with Prior Authorization Review

    Why We Are Stuck with Prior Authorization Review

    From Drew Altman

    Prior authorization review frustrates patients and physicians, but we likely can’t just eliminate it. In his new column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman discusses why, and why the focus is now instead on “doing it smarter.” Altman writes: “A proposal to eliminate prior authorization altogether could be the single most tangible and popular health reform idea a candidate could make. But, in our fragmented health system, with no great way to control costs or limit unnecessary care, we seem to be stuck with prior authorization review…and most payers are now trying to ‘do prior authorization review smarter.’”

  • Targeting Medicare Drug Benefits: Costs and Issues

    Report

    This report, written by Marilyn Moon and Matthew Storeygard of the Urban Institute, estimates the potential cost of targeting drug benefits to low-income Medicare beneficiaries and those with catastrophic drug expenses and discusses some of the key programmatic issues that could arise under this approach.

  • Pieces of the Puzzle

    Report

    A new report describes the Report to Congress by the Department of Health and Human Services on consumer protection and quality assurance requirements for Medicaid managed care and discusses the differences between the original Federal rule and the revised one.

  • Prescription Drug Trends:  A Chartbook Update

    Report

    This November 2001 Chartbook updates data from last year's chartbook, including information about prescription drug coverage, expenditures and prices, utilization, drug promotion, and the pharmaceutical industry.

  • Medicare Beneficiaries: A Population At Risk – Findings from the Kaiser/Commonwealth 1997 Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries

    Other Post

    Medicare Beneficiaries: A Population at RiskFindings from the Kaiser/Commonwealth Fund 1997 Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries Tables for Medicare Beneficiaries: A Population at RiskPart 1 Cathy Schoen, Patricia Neuman, Michelle Kitchman, Karen Davis, and Diane Rowland List of Tables Table 1 Medicare Beneficiary Demographics, by Poverty Status Table 2 Medicare Beneficiary Demographics, by Age Group Table…

  • Visualizing Health Policy: The Role of Medicare Advantage

    Other Post

    This September 2014 Visualizing Health Policy Infographic examines the role of private plans, such as HMOs and PPOs, in Medicare. These Medicare Advantage plans offer an alternative to traditional Medicare and provide all benefits covered under Medicare Parts A and B, and often Part D. The infographic includes data on Medicare Advantage penetration across the country. It shows the concentration of enrollment among a small number of firms and affiliates, and displays the extent to which Medicare pays more for Medicare Advantage enrollees than for beneficiaries in fee for service Medicare, on average, and that the payment differential is declining

  • Visualizing Health Policy: The Role of Medicare Advantage

    News Release

    This Visualizing Health Policy infographic provides a snapshot of the role of Medicare Advantage plans, an alternative to traditional Medicare, including information about the proportion of Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, geographic differences in Medicare Advantage penetration, the trend of increasing enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans, and the concentration of enrollment…

  • Report Examines Trends in the Medicare Part D Plan Marketplace

    News Release

    A new comprehensive Kaiser Family Foundation report analyzes key trends that have shaped the Medicare Part D marketplace since the program launched nine years ago, providing a detailed assessment of changes in plan availability, enrollment, premiums and cost sharing in both private stand-alone drug plans, and Medicare Advantage drug plans.