- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
AARP Medicare Plan Cuts Signal Major Changes, Says UnitedHealthcare CEO
For all the current focus on Obamacare lurching into its infancy, 50-year-old Medicare is also undergoing profound and disruptive change as Congress struggles with soaring medical bills and a growing senior population.
Roz Vellines attends her local YMCA three times a week for an exercise class in the swimming pool — a $43-per-month perk from her AARP Medicare plan.
"I love it," said Vellines, 70. Classmates "are my Y family. Some of these ladies don't have much other contact with people.''
But come Jan. 1, Vellines will lose her free ride. Her insurance plan is dropping the popular fitness program Silver Sneakers.
"It's pretty dumb,'' Vellines said. "They are supposed to be promoting health.''
AARP Medicare plans, administered by insurance giant UnitedHealthCare, have been under scrutiny lately for belt tightening, ranging from dropping Silver Sneakers to dropping thousands of physicians from their networks. Major providers like Moffitt Cancer Center and St. Luke's Cataract and Laser Institute are out for 2014.
As a result, many of AARP's 50,000 Tampa Bay customers have indicated they will drop their plans during Medicare's current open enrollment.
Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/16WTICu
Source: Tampa Bay Times
Medicaid Budget Survey Highlights Postpandemic Challenges and Priorities
October 24th 2024The Medicaid budget survey for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 revealed state predictions are expecting a decline in Medicaid enrollment and an increase in spending next year due to the end of pandemic-era policies and federal funding.
Read More
Exploring Racial, Ethnic Disparities in Cancer Care Prior Authorization Decisions
October 24th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the author of a study published in the October 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® that explored prior authorization decisions in cancer care by race and ethnicity for commercially insured patients.
Listen
Sarcoma Care: Biomarker Advancements Shape the Future
October 24th 2024At the regional Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event in Boston, Vinayak Venkataraman, MD, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, was a panelist for the discussion, “Recent Advancements in Identifying Predictive Biomarkers for Sarcomas."
Read More
Sustaining Compassionate Trauma Care Across Communities
September 30th 2024September is National Recovery Month, and we are bringing you another limited-edition month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In our final episode, we speak with Lyndra Bills, MD, and Shari Hutchison, MS.
Listen
