Thank You 2020 Donors!
Deane Beebe
February 24, 2021
The coronavirus public health emergency has created new challenges for everyone, especially older adults and people with chronic health conditions. The Medicare
Deane Beebe
Vice President, Communications & Outreach
Deane Beebe joined the Medicare Rights Center as Vice President of Communications & Outreach in December 2015. Previously, she was the Director of Public Education & Media Relations at PHI (Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute), where she worked to improve the quality of long-term care by improving the quality of direct-care jobs, and helped wage a successful campaign to extend federal labor protections to home care workers. She was also the editor of a biweekly newsletter on the direct-care workforce.
Ms. Beebe first served as the Communications Director at the Medicare Rights Center from 1999 to 2008, when the Medicare drug benefit was being developed and implemented. She has held communications positions at several nonprofit organizations and government agencies dedicated to aging, disability, health, and/or health access issues, including the Visiting Nurse Service of -New York’s Center for Home Care Policy & Research; International Longevity Center; American Federation of Aging Research; and the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health and Public Welfare.
Prior to working in communications, Ms. Beebe was a geriatric social worker in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree in Mass Communications from Emerson College and a B.A. in Sociology from SUNY Buffalo.
Deane Beebe joined the Medicare Rights Center as Vice President of Communications & Outreach in December 2015. Previously, she was the Director of Public Education & Media Relations at PHI (Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute), where she worked to improve the quality of long-term care by improving the quality of direct-care jobs, and helped wage a successful campaign to extend federal labor protections to home care workers. She was also the editor of a biweekly newsletter on the direct-care workforce.
Ms. Beebe first served as the Communications Director at the Medicare Rights Center from 1999 to 2008, when the Medicare drug benefit was being developed and implemented. She has held communications positions at several nonprofit organizations and government agencies dedicated to aging, disability, health, and/or health access issues, including the Visiting Nurse Service of -New York’s Center for Home Care Policy & Research; International Longevity Center; American Federation of Aging Research; and the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health and Public Welfare.
Prior to working in communications, Ms. Beebe was a geriatric social worker in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree in Mass Communications from Emerson College and a B.A. in Sociology from SUNY Buffalo.
Annual Awards Event Goes Virtual
Deane Beebe
October 9, 2020
The Medicare Rights Center’s Annual Awards Event will be held virtually on October 19 at 6:00 PM. This year’s theme accurately depicts the organization and its partners since the coronavirus pandemic began: “Ready, Reliable, Resilient.” While Medicare Rights will miss seeing so many of its supporters in the ballroom, the organization is delighted that the online celebration will make it possible for many more to attend.
Frederic Riccardi Named Medicare Rights President
Deane Beebe
May 1, 2019
The Medicare Rights Center has a new president. The board of directors appointed Frederic Riccardi, vice president of client services,
In Memoriam: Cathy McElroy
Deane Beebe
March 25, 2019
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Cathy McElroy, our dedicated colleague and friend who worked tirelessly to further the Medicare Rights Center’s mission.
As Vice President of Operations for two decades, Cathy’s talents, compassion, and grace have been critical to our organization’s success. She touched the lives of those in the Medicare Rights community and many beyond it and will be forever missed.
Advocating to Lower Prescription Drug Prices
Deane Beebe
October 15, 2018
Medicare Rights continues to support efforts and advance policies that make prescription drugs more affordable and do not otherwise increase costs or reduce access to care for older adults and people with disabilities.
This summer, Medicare Rights President Joe Baker was a panelist at a Capitol Hill briefing, “Tackling Prescription Drug Prices: An Examination of Proposed Medicare Part D Reforms,” an educational event hosted by the National Coalition on Health Care to shed light on proposed reforms to Medicare Part D, identify the trade-offs involved, and explore the impacts on people with Medicare.
Medicare Rights Federal Policy Update
Deane Beebe
May 16, 2018
The Medicare Rights federal policy team has been hard at work considering and responding to multiple U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requests for comments on proposals regarding changes to Medicare Advantage plans and Part D as well as other regulatory and administrative issues such as Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) and Short-term, Limited Duration Insurance.
Spotlight on the Federal Policy Team
Deane Beebe
June 9, 2017
The Medicare Rights’ federal policy team’s work varies day to day, but their overall strategy leads to one goal: to protect and strengthen Medicare for the 56 million individuals who depend on the program today—and the many millions more who are counting on it for the years to come.
35 Organizations Join Together to Provide Recommendations to CMS on the “Welcome to Medicare” Package
Deane Beebe
May 11, 2017
The Medicare Rights Center and over 30 other national and state organizations, including the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and
Prescription Drug Pricing Expert Presents at Medicare Rights
Deane Beebe
April 7, 2016
Peter Bach, MD, MAPP, director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, was the guest speaker on “The Future of Drug Pricing” at the Medicare Rights Center’s Policy Breakfast on April 5.
Dr. Bach, a physician, epidemiologist, researcher, and healthcare policy expert whose work focuses on the cost and value of anticancer drugs, is an ardent supporter of value-based pricing for prescription drugs and favors the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently announced proposal to test value-based payment strategies for medications covered under Medicare Part B.
Thank You 2020 Donors!
February 24, 2021
The coronavirus public health emergency has created new challenges for everyone, especially older adults and people with chronic health conditions. The Medicare
Annual Awards Event Goes Virtual
October 9, 2020
The Medicare Rights Center’s Annual Awards Event will be held virtually on October 19 at 6:00 PM. This year’s theme accurately depicts the organization and its partners since the coronavirus pandemic began: “Ready, Reliable, Resilient.” While Medicare Rights will miss seeing so many of its supporters in the ballroom, the organization is delighted that the online celebration will make it possible for many more to attend.
Frederic Riccardi Named Medicare Rights President
May 1, 2019
The Medicare Rights Center has a new president. The board of directors appointed Frederic Riccardi, vice president of client services,
In Memoriam: Cathy McElroy
March 25, 2019
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Cathy McElroy, our dedicated colleague and friend who worked tirelessly to further the Medicare Rights Center’s mission.
As Vice President of Operations for two decades, Cathy’s talents, compassion, and grace have been critical to our organization’s success. She touched the lives of those in the Medicare Rights community and many beyond it and will be forever missed.
Advocating to Lower Prescription Drug Prices
October 15, 2018
Medicare Rights continues to support efforts and advance policies that make prescription drugs more affordable and do not otherwise increase costs or reduce access to care for older adults and people with disabilities.
This summer, Medicare Rights President Joe Baker was a panelist at a Capitol Hill briefing, “Tackling Prescription Drug Prices: An Examination of Proposed Medicare Part D Reforms,” an educational event hosted by the National Coalition on Health Care to shed light on proposed reforms to Medicare Part D, identify the trade-offs involved, and explore the impacts on people with Medicare.
Medicare Rights Federal Policy Update
May 16, 2018
The Medicare Rights federal policy team has been hard at work considering and responding to multiple U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requests for comments on proposals regarding changes to Medicare Advantage plans and Part D as well as other regulatory and administrative issues such as Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) and Short-term, Limited Duration Insurance.
Spotlight on the Federal Policy Team
June 9, 2017
The Medicare Rights’ federal policy team’s work varies day to day, but their overall strategy leads to one goal: to protect and strengthen Medicare for the 56 million individuals who depend on the program today—and the many millions more who are counting on it for the years to come.
35 Organizations Join Together to Provide Recommendations to CMS on the “Welcome to Medicare” Package
May 11, 2017
The Medicare Rights Center and over 30 other national and state organizations, including the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and
Prescription Drug Pricing Expert Presents at Medicare Rights
April 7, 2016
Peter Bach, MD, MAPP, director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, was the guest speaker on “The Future of Drug Pricing” at the Medicare Rights Center’s Policy Breakfast on April 5.
Dr. Bach, a physician, epidemiologist, researcher, and healthcare policy expert whose work focuses on the cost and value of anticancer drugs, is an ardent supporter of value-based pricing for prescription drugs and favors the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently announced proposal to test value-based payment strategies for medications covered under Medicare Part B.