BNET Business Dictionary
Business Definition for: Medicare
- a health insurance program in which the government pays part of the cost of medical care and hospital treatment for people over 65
- the Australian public health insurance system. It was created in 1983 and is funded by a levy on income.
Additional Resources
- Hiding In Plain Sight: Using Medicare To Solve The â??Public Optionâ?? Conundrum
- By JEFF GOLDSMITH As Senate and House Committee versions of health reform move toward unified legislation and floor votes, the most complex political challenge is how to resolve the "public option" controversy. While one would have thought weightier issues such as the shape of Medicare reform, the taxation required to...
- News items 2009-10-21
- The Senate Bill: Medicare And Much Else
- Editor's Note: In the post below, Tim Jost looks at provisions of the Senate Democratic health reform bill dealing with Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, and many other significant topics. In earlier posts, Jost took a first look at the Senate bill, provided a detailed look at several issues that arise under the bill's insurance reforms, and discussed...
- News items 2009-11-21
- Humana Presses Its (Medicare) Advantage
- Unlike its health-insurance competitor WellPoint, which looks to be ceding its turf in the management of government-sponsored health plans as quickly as it can, Humana remains heavily dependent on managing Medicare and Medicaid plans that account for close to 70 percent of its total membership. And it has a new...
- Blog posts 2008-10-29
- CMS Starts Tightening Screws on Medicare Plans
- In a prelude to what could be draconian cuts in payments to Medicare Advantage plans, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS has announced several changes in how it review bids for contract renewals. CMS will scrutinize Medicare Advantage companies that don’t cap out of pocket...
- Blog posts 2009-03-31
- The Medicare-Bill Aftermath: Industry Implications
- Congress overruled President Bush's veto of the latest Medicare bill, sealing a big victory for doctors over insurance companies. As we noted last week, the bill puts off an automatic cut in physician fees by limiting subsidies to insurance companies. (Paul Krugman, I should note, offered a take similar to...
- Blog posts 2008-07-16
- "Value-Based" Purchasing Alone Won't Cure Medicare's Ills
- As the movement for healthcare reform gathers momentum, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have introduced a “discussion draft†of legislation that would link a small portion of Medicare’s hospital payments to the quality of care provided by each facility. Starting in FY 2012,...
- Blog posts 2008-11-28
- Medicare Advantage Plans Pump Up Premiums
- From the “truth-is-stranger-than-fiction†department: Just as President Obama and the Democratic Congress are getting ready to cut subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans by 15 percent, these companies have increased 2009 premiums to Medicare beneficiaries by 13 percent, on average. That’s five times as much as these charges grew in 2008,...
- Blog posts 2009-02-05
- Humana Scores With a Surprise Turnaround in Medicare Advantage
- Humana charges seniors more for its Medicare Advantage plansâ€"and yet still they come! This was the prime revelation of the insurance company’s first-quarter earnings report: Despite raising its premiums by 4 to 11 percent and instituting premiums in areas of the country where Humana formerly had none, its Medicare Advantage...
- Blog posts 2009-04-27
- Should MedPAC Be Given Authority Over Medicare Payments?
- Most of the attention paid to President Obama’s letter to Senators Max Baucus and Ted Kennedy has focused on Obama's willingness to accept a health reform plan that includes an individual mandate to buy health insurance. But that's not surprising, considering the strong support in Congress for that requirement. And...
- Blog posts 2009-06-04
- Medicare Advantage Cure Is Worse Than The Disease
- During the 2008 election campaign, then Sen. Obama and other Democratic Presidential candidates bemoaned the excessive amount that Medicare was paying private Medicare Advantage plans. And President Obama has made cutbacks in these payments part of his "reserve fund" for healthcare reform. But the way the government proposes to reduce...
- Blog posts 2009-09-03
- Medicare + Choice Plans: Non-Renewal Fact Sheet
- Some Medicare + Choice Plans are leaving the Medicare program. When Medicare + Choice Plans sign contracts with the Medicare program, they agree to stay in Medicare for at least one calendar year. Each year, Medicare + Choice Plans decide whether to continue doing business with Medicare, and whether to...
- White papers 2002-11-01
- Medicare at a Glance
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS is the Federal agency that runs "Medicare." CMS is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. In most areas, people can get their Medicare benefits in more than one way. Their Medicare health plan choices include the Original Medicare Plan...
- White papers 2004-09-01
- Pay It Right: Protecting Medicare From Fraud
- Most doctors and health care providers who work with Medicare are honest. There are a few who are not honest. Medicare is working very hard with other government agencies to protect the Medicare program. Medicare fraud happens when Medicare is billed for services people never got. Medicare fraud takes a...
- White papers 2003-04-01
- Medicare Advantage: Brief Overview of History, Regional PPOs, Facts-at-a-Glance
- This white paper examines the history of Medicare Advantage, regional Medicare Advantage PPOs, local Medicare Advantage plans, participation and enrollment, benefits and premiums, and Medicare Advantage facts-at-a-glance. The Medicare Modernization Act MMA expands the existing options available to Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in private health plans. The MMA expanded the...
- White papers 2005-02-01
- Medicare and Other Health Benefits: Your Guide to Who Pays First
- This paper explains how Medicare works with other kinds of insurance or coverage, and who should pay your bills first. Some people who have Medicare have other insurance or coverage that must pay before Medicare pays its share of your bill. They may have more than one type of insurance...
- White papers 2004-08-01
- The Facts About Medicare Advantage: Medicare Modernization Act
- Medicare Advantage is the new name for Medicare + Choice Plansùbut it's more than just a new name. Medicare Advantage gives people more health care coverage choices and better health care benefits. This fact sheet has basic information about how Medicare Advantage affects your health care choices. Medicare Advantage Plans...
- White papers 2004-04-01
- Medicare Home Health: Payments to Most Freestanding Home Health Agencies More Than Cover Their Costs
- Under Medicare's home health prospective payment system PPS, home health agencies HHA are paid a fixed amount, adjusted for differences in individual patients' expected care needs, for providing an episode (up to 60 days) of care. This report examines whether Medicare payments cover HHAs' costs and what factors distinguished financially...
- White papers 2004-02-01
- Medicare Ups the Ante on Medical Mistakes -- But Risks Going Too Far
- Two weeks after health plans like Wellpoint announced they would follow Medicare's lead in refusing to pay for eight preventable medical problems in hospitals, Medicare has upped the ante by proposing nine more conditions for which it won't fully reimburse hospitals, including surgical infections, wild swings...
- Blog posts 2008-04-17
- A Guide for People With Medicare: Choosing a Medicare Health Plan
- This paper has a lot of tips and questions to help people make the health plan choice that is right for them. Get as much information as you can so Medicare offers them different ways to get their Medicare benefits. These different options are called Medicare health plans. Some private...
- White papers 2003-08-01
- Medicare Coverage of Kidney Dialysis and Kidney Transplant Services
- This paper explains how Medicare helps pay for kidney dialysis and kidney transplant services in the Original Medicare Plan, also known as "fee-for-service". If people are in a Medicare Advantage Plan, which includes Medicare Managed Care Plans, Medicare Private Fee-for-Service Plans, and Medicare Preferred Provider Organization Plans, their plan must...
- White papers 2004-11-01
