Last week, the Medicare Rights Center submitted comments on a Request for Information (RFI) from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This RFI asked for feedback on a host of potential changes that touted as ways to lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare and Medicaid.

In May, the Trump Administration released a “blueprint” of various proposals in an attempt to bring down drug costs. Medicare Rights supports efforts to make prescription drugs more affordable. Many people with Medicare struggle to afford their medications, and Medicare affordability is one of the top issues on our national helpline every year. Something must be done to ensure the millions of people with Medicare have access to needed prescriptions.

After a Federal Judge invalidated the previously approved plan by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) to require very low income parents and caregivers to show that they are working or engaged in other activities in order to qualify for Medicaid coverage in Kentucky, CMS re-released the rule and another one governing Mississippi for additional comments.

Today, Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center, participated in a Capitol Hill briefing on Tackling Prescription Drug Prices: An Examination of Proposed Medicare Part D Reforms. Hosted by the National Coalition on Health Care, the goal of this educational briefing was to shed light on proposed reforms to Medicare Part D, identify the trade-offs involved, and explore the impacts on Medicare beneficiaries.

To launch our new series, we begin with “Medicare: Strong and Built to Last.” This fact sheet gives some basic statistics about the Medicare program, including who uses it, why it’s important, and its financial footing.

In January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a Medicaid waiver in Kentucky that would allow the state to make participation in a work or “community engagement” program a condition for Medicaid eligibility. A group of advocates sued on behalf of Kentuckians who would be at risk of losing Medicaid coverage, and last month a federal judge put Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirement on hold. His decision called into question CMS’s attention to vital details about the Kentucky Medicaid waiver, including whether the waiver violates one of the primary purposes of the Medicaid statute—to provide health coverage.

This week, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released an issue brief analyzing the availability of, and enrollment in Medigaps across different states. One in four people in traditional Medicare had this private, supplemental health insurance in 2015. Medigaps help cover Medicare deductibles and cost-sharing, reduce the out-of-pocket burden associated with accessing care, and protect against high costs because of catastrophic illness or injury.