If you add up the proposed Medicare changes in President Trump’s 2020 budget, it looks like he would cut the program by $845 billion over the next decade. That’s generated outrage from Democrats, but a closer look suggests that the reductions are much smaller, most would affect providers rather than beneficiaries, and many recycle old ideas that have little chance of ever [...]
The Trump Administration has proposed a major change in the way drugs are priced for Medicare beneficiaries. The new rules would upend the current complex and opaque pricing system for pharmaceuticals, lower prices for users of some costly drugs (though not others), and raise Medicare Part D premiums for everyone. Whether you win or lose under the new system would [...]
Believe it or not, there is a chance President Trump and congressional Democrats can reach an agreement this year to limit the growth in Medicare drug prices. It certainly won’t be easy, given the toxic relationship the president and Democrats have built up in just the past few weeks. But both sides have good reasons to make a deal, and [...]
US District Judge Reed O’Connor’s Friday night decision to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act would damage the well-being of older adults, those 50-64 nearing Medicare, and frail elders and younger people with disabilities who are receiving long-term care benefits under Medicaid. Many lawyers believe the ruling is poorly reasoned and likely would be reversed on appeal. However, it [...]
After the new Congress is sworn in next January it may address several issues that directly affect the well-being of older adults as well as younger people with disabilities. The House, which will be controlled by Democrats, and the Senate, still run by Republicans, will have very different perspectives on these issues but both chambers are likely to confront the [...]
With great fanfare, and just two weeks before the congressional elections, President Trump announced a new initiative aimed at reducing Medicare drug prices. It is an issue he has been promising to address since his presidential campaign. But a close look shows that the package announced yesterday is quite modest. The plan, which the Department of Health & Human Services [...]
Tough new rules proposed by the Trump Administration would make it effectively impossible for immigrants to come to the US to work as home health aides or as staff at nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Because at least one million aides (one of every four) is an immigrant, the complex rules Trump proposed over the weekend would dry up [...]
In a series of recent decisions, the Trump Administration is taking steps that will sharply raise insurance premiums for people aged 50-64, just before they become eligible for Medicare. While these steps are likely to make coverage less expensive for young, healthy consumers, they will inevitably raise costs for middle-aged people with chronic conditions. For many, insurance will become unaffordable. [...]
The Trump Administration is heavily promoting what it calls its “Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs.” But will the plan reduce out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries? The answer is: Not by much, at least not very soon. And, in some cases, it could even make drugs more costly. The first problem is that the paper really isn’t [...]
The Trump Administration’s increasingly tough crackdown on immigrants threatens to worsen an already severe shortage of aides who care for frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. The shortage of direct care workers will affect those living at home as well as those receiving residential care. The problem already is squeezing nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well [...]