Last week, the Trump Administration released a wide-ranging yet ambiguous Executive Order (EO) focused on the Medicare program.

Many of the EO provisions lack specifics, making it difficult to predict what, if any, policies or recommendations may emerge. Since any policies that do emerge would likely require legislative or regulatory action before taking effect, the EO’s prospects for impacting the program are also unknown.

Currently, Medicare does not cover most dental services. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a non-partisan, non-profit focused on national health issues, recently released an issue brief discussing various options to increase access to dental coverage for people with Medicare. According to the brief, nearly two out of every three Medicare beneficiaries have no dental coverage, leading many to go without necessary care.

This week, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) introduced a House companion to the Medicare Extra Rx HELP Act (S. 691/H.R. 4583). Championed in the Senate by Bob Casey (D-PA), this bill would make improvements to the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), commonly known as Extra Help, to better reflect current needs.

Last week, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), along with Representatives. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced legislation to improve the health and economic security of people with disabilities—the Stop the Wait Act (S. 2496, H.R. 4386).

Last week, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) released her much-anticipated drug pricing plan, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019 (H.R. 3). Top Democrats on the three committees of jurisdiction introduced the legislation—Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Energy & Commerce; Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), Ways & Means; and Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Education & Labor.

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.