A new report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) highlights the demographics of people with Medicare who died in 2014 and the cost of care at the end of their life. The KFF findings on Medicare spending focus on people in traditional Medicare, since comparable data is unavailable for people enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. Still, the report findings contribute to the ongoing conversation about end-of-life care, what services people access at the end of life, and how much Medicare spends for those services.

When President Obama took office in January 2009, one out of seven Americans had no health insurance. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the number of insured by improving the accessibility, affordability, and quality of health care. This week, the President published a comprehensive article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) outlining the positive results and improvements brought about by the ACA. Despite the innumerable developments brought to health care through the ACA, the President does not dismiss the fact that more is needed to carry forward the law’s promise.

The U.S. House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education approved a bill that would provide funding for the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) at the current level of $52.1 million, a measure applauded by the Medicare Rights Center. This comes after the Senate Appropriations Committee recently proposed eliminating SHIP funding altogether.

Last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released a report examining the anticipated effects of four options to modify Medicare’s benefit and cost-sharing design. The proposals include changes to the Medicare Part A and Part B deductible and cost-sharing amounts, as well as further restrictions to Medigap coverage. Each of the proposals are derived from policies proposed in recent years by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), and other organizations

This week, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the proposed Part B drug payment model. Medicare Rights, AARP, and a broad coalition, including consumer and patient advocates, physician groups, labor unions, and others, submitted a letter to the Senate Finance Committee in support of the proposal.

Republican lawmakers recently revealed their much anticipated proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The plan calls for repealing almost all of the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with a mix of measures, like setting up “high-risk pools” for people with costly illnesses, raising premiums for older adults to lower rates for younger consumers, and making significant changes to Medicare and Medicaid…

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved a 2017 spending bill that completely eliminates funding for the Medicare State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).

Older adults, people with disabilities, and their families and caregivers need assistance understanding the A, B, C and Ds of Medicare. Operating in every state, SHIPs answer questions about Medicare and help people solve problems. Eliminating SHIPs would leave millions who need support comparing coverage options, appealing denials, applying for financial assistance, and navigating increasingly complex Medicare benefits stranded—with nowhere to turn.

The 2016 annual report of the Board of Trustees (the Trustee’s Report) was released this week. The report estimates that the Medicare Part A trust fund will be fully funded through 2028. Health reform is a major contributor to an improved financial outlook for the Medicare program. The Part A trust fund’s projected fully funded date of 2028 is 11 years later than it was before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted.

In its June report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) includes several suggestions to improve and reduce costs in the Part D prescription drug program. MedPAC, observing that Part D spending has increased more than 50 percent since 2007 as a result of rising drug costs and other factors, recommends proposals that it estimates could save $10 billion over five years.

Due to a recent increase in the number of appeals and appeal backlogs, GAO was asked to take a look at the various levels of the appeals process and examine trends, the data that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) uses to keep track of the appeals process, and what HHS is doing to decrease the number of appeals.