Health insurers would directly pay providers the difference between the out-of-network rate and the patient's cost-sharing amount for those services. In states that don't have their own systems, the out-of-network rate would be the amount that the provider and insurer agree to through an open negotiation process, or the amount set through an arbitration process..Even patients on Medicare have faced this problem because not all health care providers accept Medicare or some Medicare supplement policies..Drug prices in the U.S. are much higher than in other developed countries, because there are no federal laws regulating prices. In fact, the law specifically forbids Medicare from negotiating prices on behalf of its beneficiaries. Allowing the importation of prescription drugs from countries such as Canada, where drugs are less expensive, has the potential to lower drug costs for both U.S. consumers and the federal government..to make it sustainable. But let's do it in a thoughtful way, so seniors who worked hard and paid their dues aren't suddenly thrown to the wolves. We already have members telling us about elderly friends who are foregoing cancer treatments because they can't afford them and don't want to saddle their surviving spouse with the bills; for such folks, some of the reform proposals would simply be too much to bear.".In her new role as CMS administrator, Verma will report to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who has authored several Medicare reform plans in recent years. His proposals would increase the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 while adopting a "premium support" model, where beneficiaries would be given vouchers from the federal government to purchase private health insurance..This week, one new cosponsor Senator Dean Heller signed on to Senator David Vitter's Notch Fairness Act. Senator Heller is currently the bill's only cosponsor..On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee met with officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Government Accountability Office to discuss the removal of Social Security numbers from Medicare cards. According to Subcommittee Chairman Wally Herger, more than one million seniors have been victims of identity theft in the past year, largely because the Medicare cards they are encouraged to carry everyday contain sensitive information..In a rare holiday session, Members of the House and Senate voted to pass the American Taxpayer Relief Act in order to avert the Fiscal Cliff. With votes of 89-8 in the Senate and 257-167 in the House, the bill was approved in the first hours of the New Year, and it was signed into law by the President on Wednesday. The measure permanently extends the Bush-era tax rates for individuals making less than 0,000 and couples making less than 0,000, and it allows rates to increase for those making more. The law also temporarily prevents a 27 percent pay cut for physicians who treat Medicare patients, and it includes a two-month postponement of the automatic spending cuts that were scheduled to take effect on January 1st..On Wednesday, the Senate Special Committee on Aging convened to hold a hearing titled "Stopping Senior Scams." At the hearing, members of the committee released this year's Fraud Book, which details the ten most common scams reported to the committee's fraud hotline. In 2017, the hotline received calls from more than 1,400 seniors who were the victims of robocalls, lottery scams, grandparent scams, and romance scams, among many others.
