The AJMC® Medicare compendium is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on issues that affect Medicare beneficiaries with a focus on polypharmacy, reimbursement challenges, and other topics related to seniors.
More Care Doesn't Equal Happier Patients in Traditional Medicare
March 17th 2025Data on care satisfaction, ease managing care, and out-of-pocket spending were the outcomes of interest for this new analysis that investigated the relationship between healthcare utilization and beneficiary experience within traditional Medicare.
Read More
Oz Confirmation Hearing Probes Vision for Medicaid but Coalesces Around Well-Being
March 14th 2025Mehmet Oz, MD, the nominee to lead CMS under the Trump administration, testified in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, where he found common ground on improving outcomes through healthier lifestyle choices but encountered repeated questions on potential Medicaid cuts.
Read More
A Focus on MAHA, Lasting Changes to Health Care Programs for Trump’s Second Term
March 13th 2025The second Trump administration is expected to bring changes to Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and the health insurance exchanges, as well as highlight the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, speakers at the Value-Based Insurance Design Summit said.
Read More
Potential Spillover Effects on Traditional Medicare When Physicians Bear Medicare Advantage Risk
Medicare beneficiaries treated by physicians with high levels of Medicare Advantage risk exposure had higher care quality and efficiency outcomes compared with those treated by other physicians.
Read More
OIG Report Seeks Better Oversight, Records for FDA’s Accelerated Approvals
February 3rd 2025Amid the uproar over the firing of 18 inspectors general, a report offering a coda to the aducanumab approval episode has been overlooked. It shows the need for reforms of the FDA's accelerated approval process.
Read More
Executive Orders Suggest Swift Pivot in Managed Care and Health Policy
January 22nd 2025President Donald Trump's initial executive orders target previous efforts to reduce health care costs, pandemic preparedness, and international partnerships, showing a stark contrast to the Biden administration.
Read More
Health Equity & Access Weekly Roundup: January 11, 2025
January 11th 2025ACA enrollment rate hits a milestone, though IRA subsidies may not extend beyond 2025; network adequacy standards fail to translate into efficient access to mental health care for Medicaid enrollees; research examines racial disparities in postpartum hypertension and vaccine uptake.
Read More
High-Intensity Home-Based Rehabilitation in a Medicare Accountable Care Organization
High-intensity home-based rehabilitation (HIHR) may substitute for facility-based postacute rehabilitation. Patients in HIHR had better functional outcomes at lower costs than patients in facility-based care.
Read More
Year-End Spending Bill to Feature Reforms for Pharmacy Benefit Managers and Telehealth Access
December 18th 2024The health care provisions include key reforms targeting pharmacy benefit managers, extensions of Medicare telehealth flexibilities, and measures aimed at combating the opioid crisis and preparing for future pandemics.
Read More
Searching for the Policy-Relevant Treatment Effect in Medicare’s ACO Evaluations
The authors discuss multiple challenges to the production of policy-relevant results from evaluation of Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs).
Read More
Veterans’ Medicare Advantage Enrollments Drive Cost Duplication
November 11th 2024This research is not the first to uncover duplicative and wasteful spending on health care for veterans who receive care primarily through the Veterans Health Administration as they are also enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.
Read More
Medicare Costs Push Financial Limits of Many Older Adults
October 28th 2024Patients with Medicare coverage and whose incomes fall between 100% and 400% or less of the federal poverty level may find themselves in a tricky financial situation concerning their ability to pay the Medicare Part A hospital deductible.
Read More
5 Hot Health Care Topics in the Presidential Election
October 18th 2024A review of positions and track records of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on reproductive health, the future of the Affordable Care Act, prescription drug costs, health care consolidation, and a proposed Medicare home health benefit.
Read More
Corporate Accountability and Public Health: Sackler Ruling and Treatment Gaps in the Opioid Crisis
October 2nd 2024The Supreme Court’s decision, paired with the newest data demonstrating the public impact of the opioid crisis, illustrates the legal potential in addressing the crisis and the ongoing public health challenges of treatment access.
Read More
Lower Drug Costs on the Horizon for Medicare Beneficiaries
September 30th 2024Average Medicare drug premiums for older Americans will drop next year for those enrolled in traditional Medicare plans or who have coverage through Medicare Advantage, with opinions divided along party lines on the economic implications.
Read More
IRA Negotiated Drug Prices Can’t Come “On the Backs of Providers”
September 10th 2024There are concerns that the negotiated drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are leading to large provider reimbursement cuts, explained Nick Ferreyros, managing director, Community Oncology Alliance.
Read More
Medicare Semaglutide Coverage: Millions May Gain Access That Could Cost $145 Billion
August 26th 2024Medicare has not clearly defined what constitutes "established cardiovascular disease," leading to variability in potential patient eligibility; therefore, researchers aimed to estimate the number of Medicare beneficiaries who would become newly eligible for semaglutide under different definitions.
Read More