The bipartisan Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act (S. 1280/H.R. 2477) is urgently needed to modernize and streamline the Medicare Part B enrollment process. Passage this year presents an important opportunity for members of Congress to advance commonsense, low-cost reforms that are in the best interest of millions of current and future Medicare beneficiaries.

In a letter sent this week to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma, we applauded the agency’s efforts to update the Medicare Plan Finder but also urged CMS to make additional improvements to the tool prior to the upcoming Fall Open Enrollment period which begins on October 15.

Justice in Aging, Medicare Rights Center, Center for Medicare Advocacy and the National Council on Aging recently sent a joint

New polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) explores the experiences of adults ages 65 and older with prescription medications,

A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines a number of these proposed and recent changes—including those related to the Part D benefit design, the Low Income Subsidy (LIS) program, drug importation, generic drug availability, and price transparency—outlining the implications for people with Medicare and the program itself. This comprehensive resource will be updated ongoingly to reflect evolving policy discussions.

This month, the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) released an issue brief explaining the importance of the public comment process, how to submit comments, and how comments impact the implementation of federal policies.

On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security finalized a “public charge” rule that could greatly harm families and prevent people with Medicare from accessing the services and supports they need to thrive. The new policy is set to become effective on October 15, 2019.

Currently, people with Medicare cannot appeal the decision to classify them outpatients, but a court case—Alexander v. Azar—may change that. In 2011, seven plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit to try to gain the right to appeal the decision to classify them as outpatients in observation stay instead of as inpatients who would potentially be eligible for SNF coverage. After many twists and turns, the case has finally made it to trial this week in a Connecticut court. If successful, the lawsuit would ensure that beneficiaries can appeal decisions made by hospitals that reduce their eligibility for Medicare coverage of SNF care.

On June 14, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule that would significantly weaken the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) nondiscrimination protections. Section 1557 of the ACA makes it illegal for providers that receive federal funding to discriminate in the provision of health care on the basis of race, color, national origin (including language access), age, disability or sex. HHS is now seeking to limit those protections, changes that would put many already vulnerable populations—including older adults, people with disabilities, people with limited English proficiency, and LGBTQ individuals—at risk of losing access to care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced a proposal designed to increase hospital price transparency. Under the draft