The Medicare Rights Center is in its second year of providing a range of Medicare resources to the 54 State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) across the country. Working with the Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A), which was awarded a grant from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in 2014, Medicare Rights today offers Medicare training and certification to SHIP counselors through the National SHIP Technical Assistance Center (SHIP TA Center). Read More...
Can I Appeal a Part D Late Enrollment Penalty (Lep)?
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Dear Marci, I enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B a few years ago when I turned 65, but I only recently signed up for a Part D plan. Then I received a notice from the plan telling me that my monthly Part D premium payment will go up because I have a late enrollment penalty on top of my regular premium. Is there any way I can get this penalty to go away? Carter (Tupelo, MS) Read More...
Medicare Rights Applauds Proposal to Enhance Educational Materials for People Newly Enrolled in Medicare
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This week, Medicare Rights expressed support for a formal process to update the “Welcome to Medicare” package and enhance education and understanding among newly eligible beneficiaries about enrollment considerations and rules. In a letter to Chairman Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Ranking Member Jim McDermott (D-WA), leaders of the Health Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, we applauded this provision in the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016 (H.R. 5273), a bipartisan bill advanced by the Committee on Ways and Means. Read More...
Commonwealth Fund Highlights Risk of High Health Care Costs for Some People with Medicare
In an issue brief released this month, the Commonwealth Fund examines the risk of high health care costs for a certain segment of the Medicare population. For more than 50 years, Medicare has provided guaranteed health benefits for millions of older adults and people with disabilities. Yet, a significant number of people with Medicare are exposed to high health care costs, with lower income populations being the most at risk. Read More...
Medicare Rights in Partnership with Health Care Learning & Action Network
This month, the Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network formally acknowledged the Medicare Rights Center as a Committed Partner. Medicare Rights supports the goal of linking 50 percent of U.S. health care payments to quality and value through alternative payment models by 2018. Medicare Rights directly answers nearly 17,000 Medicare questions each year on its free, multilingual helpline, and as a Committed Partner Medicare Rights will provide counseling to ensure that its clients — beneficiaries, caregivers, and professionals — are educated about Medicare-related alternative payment models. Read More...