It's insane that teeth, eyes, and ears were left out of regular health insurance in America. Support the Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act
The morning after House Republicans voted to open impeachment inquiry, the #Biden admin announced it will subject dozens of drugmakers to inflation penalties — in a move that would reduce out-of-pocket costs for #Medicare recipients.
How Health Insurers Have Made Appealing Denials So Complicated
"I spoke with more than 50 insurance experts, patients, lawyers, physicians and consumer advocates about building a tool anyone could use to navigate insurance appeals.
"Nearly everyone said the same thing: Great idea. But almost impossible to do."
This Researcher Warned of Unnecessary, Risky Vascular Procedures. She Was Called a “Nazi” and Accused of “Fratricide.”
After Dr. Caitlin Hicks and her team revealed that some #doctors appeared to be overusing lucrative vascular procedures, performing them on patients who may not have needed them, they received hostile pushback from across the profession.
Robert Reich explains why Trump has told us yet again he wants to cut Social Security and Medicare:
He and Republicans want another huge tax cut for the super-rich and big corporations. This would cause the federal budget deficit to explode — unless Social Security and Medicare are cut.
The elderly and sick — all ordinary Americans — can just eat cake. If they can find any after the cake's given to the super-rich.
"The federal government is losing as much as $140 billion per year by subsidizing private Medicare Advantage plans, according to a bombshell new report..."
"These private plans have been under fire for the rate at which they deny patient care. As The Lever reported, these claims have a devastating cost to health outcomes but frequently save insurance companies money as patients forgo treatments they cannot afford."
‘Not on my watch’ -Biden blasts TFG over suggested cuts to SS, MDCR.
">150M ppl are covered by Medicare or Medicaid,, or ~45% of the US pop. MDCR covers primarily older Americans, while Medicaid covers primarily Americans with lower incomes.
The SS Admin says an average of almost 68M ppl get benefits monthly, about 20% of the US pop.
The vast majority of those SS recipients are age 62+."
Let's talk about the American Association of Retired Persons, the AARP.
The AARP purports to advocate for American retirees and near-retirees.
The AARP Public Policy Institute publishes analysis that ostensibly advocates for its members.
Exhibit A: Their latest report finds that "list prices for 25 top Medicare Part D drugs have increased by an average of 226 percent—or more than tripled—since they first entered the market, greatly exceeding the corresponding rate of general inflation."
But... AARP maintains a partnership with the largest US health insurer, United Healthcare Group, to run a privatized, for profit, Medicare Advantage Plan.
UHG is AARP’s largest business partner, marketing these MA plans under the AARP brand name. In 2017, AARP recognized $301 million in membership dues, while reporting $627 million in royalties from UHG (2017). This includes profits from prescription drug coverage.
From 2009 to 2017, AARP saw a 47% increase in UHG royalties while membership dues only increased 22%.
AARP stopped disclosing the royalty revenue they received from UHG in 2018.
AARP is a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing, duplicitous organization.
Robert B. Hubbell lists the points in the 2025 budget wish-list released yesterday by the Republican Study Committee, which comprises 80% of Republicans in the US House:
"1. Raise the age for retirement under Social Security and benefits for some beneficiaries."
"2. End Medicare as we know it by replacing it with a “premium support model” that would force Medicare to compete with private plans by giving beneficiaries a subsidy to buy private plans in lieu of Medicare. That approach would reduce funding for Medicare and weaken the program for Americans who cannot obtain private coverage.
Weaken the Affordable Care Act by reducing subsidies and implementing limiting regulations."
A new study finds that popular weight loss drug #Ozempic "could be profitably produced for less than $5 a month, even as maker Novo Nordisk A/S charges almost $1,000 in the US..."
The company's combined 2023 sales of Ozempic and related product Wegovy topped $18 billion.
"If he gets the chance, Donald Trump will cut Social Security and Medicare. I am confident of this not only because Trump has repeatedly said as much1 and not only because he repeatedly tried to do so when he was president but because a desire to cut Social Security and Medicare has long been central to the Republican cause."
"Republicans don’t hate Social Security and Medicare merely because they are wildly successful government programs that undermine their anti-government rhetoric. Republicans hate Social Security and Medicare because they don’t think you deserve a moment of rest until your final one. They want to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of you, monetizing your existence until the day you die."
Privatization gravy train: INSUR giants use some of that MDCR Advantage$ (ripped off our tax$ last year by an est. $140B over & above what it would’ve caused us if ppl had simply been on real MDCR) to buy legislators & some of it for expensive ads to dupe seniors into joining their programs.
CNBC platforms TFG, & he doubles down on his worst ideas, some that thankfully, weren't enacted & others, like tax cuts to corporations & the wealthy, added $8.4 trillion to the national debt:
Asked about Medicare, Social Security & Medicare programs and the nation's spending & deficits, Trump told CNBC: "There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of CUTTING and in terms of also the theft and the bad management."