By Bob CarlsonEditor, Retirement Watch By Bob Carlson July 10, 2018 Most Americans in, or near, retirement know too little about Medicare, causing them to pay far more out-of-pocket for retirement medical care than they should and make big Medicare mistakes. Many people believe Medicare — the federal health insurance program for people 65 and […]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat 10-term House Democrat Joe Crowley in New York’s 14th District — the political upset of the year — in part because she championed Medicare-for-all (in addition to free college tuition and a jobs guarantee, among other progressive policies). Immediately, some pundits began to try their best to explain her victory in a […]

Self-proclaimed “progressive Democrats,” including the doughty left-handers of the Democratic Socialists of America, are on a bit of a roll right now, and are justified in pushing back against ancient intra-party and MSM claims that their agenda is too radical for the country. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of a dubious argument, as […]

am Holt, a teacher and school administrator in Granger, Indiana, was looking forward to her retirement. After her husband died when she was 40, she raised three children alone. She paid into a pension, made Medicare and Social Security contributions, accumulated some savings, and was only three years away from paying off her mortgage when, […]

Three months after its former CEO was indicted for Medicare fraud, a pain management company with clinics in 12 states is shutting locations throughout Tennessee and beyond. Comprehensive Pain Specialists has made no public statements saying why or when the closures are occurring, but Tennessean reporters confirmed current or looming closures at more than two dozen […]

The concept of “having skin in the game” is popular among those who still believe we can utilize the free market to rein in the cost of health care in the United States. The idea is that if people have to pay a decent percentage of the cost of medical care, they will turn into […]

One in four people in traditional Medicare (25 percent) had private, supplemental health insurance in 2015—also known as Medigap—to help cover their Medicare deductibles and cost-sharing requirements, as well as protect themselves against catastrophic expenses for Medicare-covered services. This issue brief provides an overview of Medigap enrollment and analyzes consumer protections under federal law and […]

CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) Navigating Medicare can be complicated, but one big change recently introduced requires that you do absolutely nothing beyond opening an envelope. In fact, doing just about anything else could open the door to a damaging identity-fraud scam. Medicare is mailing […]

  July 12, 2018   Quotes for attribution to National Kidney Foundation   Yesterday evening the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the annual proposed rule governing Medicare payments to dialysis facilities and the quality measures for which the dialysis facilities are held accountable.    The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is pleased that […]

Editor’s Note: Journalist Philip Moeller is here to provide the answers you need on aging and retirement. His weekly column, “Ask Phil,” aims to help older Americans and their families by answering their health care and financial questions. Phil is the author of “Get What’s Yours for Medicare,” and co-author of “Get What’s Yours: The Revised Secrets to […]