Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Social Security says more than 80 percent of people billed for an overpayment now repay online
Two years ago, a Social Security overpayment notice usually meant writing a check or standing in line for a money order. Today, according to the agency’s own numbers, most people just log in and pay instead. Social Security says more than four out of five people who owe money back to the program are now…
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CHI St. Vincent is set to leave every Arkansas Blue Cross network, including Medicare plans, September 1
A contract dispute between one of Arkansas’s largest hospital systems and the state’s dominant health insurer is set to come to a head on September 1, and Medicare Advantage enrollees across central Arkansas are the ones with the most to lose if the two sides don’t reach a deal in time. CHI St. Vincent, part…
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The VA built a $29 million fund for homeless veterans, with $18 million of it for free rides
The Department of Veterans Affairs has created a $29 million fund aimed at homeless veterans, and more than half of that money, up to $18 million, is set aside for a service many housing programs do not fund directly: rides. The VA announced the program on August 14, 2026, saying it will use recent legislation…
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The at-home spouse can keep up to $162,660 in savings when Medicaid pays for nursing care
When one spouse moves into a nursing home and applies for Medicaid to help pay for it, federal rules do not require the couple to spend down every dollar they have saved together first. The spouse who stays behind, known in Medicaid rules as the community spouse, is allowed to keep a protected pool of…
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Medicaid stops covering nursing home care once a home’s equity passes $752,000
Medicaid pays for the large majority of nursing home care in the United States, but federal law puts a ceiling on how much home equity an applicant can hold before that coverage stops. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services set the federal floor for that ceiling in 2026 at $752,000, according to a bulletin…
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Monogram Health will pay $2.4 million over Medicare Advantage diagnosis codes called false
Monogram Health, a Tennessee-based company that sends clinicians into patients’ homes to manage chronic kidney disease and other conditions, has agreed to pay $2.4 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false diagnosis codes to raise its payments from the Medicare Advantage program. The Department of Justice announced the settlement on August 24 and updated…
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The three biggest Medicare Advantage insurers reversed 36 to 43 percent of the rehab denials people appealed
A federal watchdog has put a number on something Medicare Advantage enrollees in rehab facilities have long suspected: a meaningful share of the care insurers initially refuse to pay for turns out, on appeal, to have been medically necessary all along. The finding comes from the three largest Medicare Advantage insurers in the country, measured…
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A Medicare Advantage plan must give 45 days’ notice before dropping your primary care doctor
Losing access to a trusted doctor without warning is one of the more disorienting things that can happen to a Medicare Advantage enrollee, and federal rules exist specifically to prevent it from happening overnight. When a plan cuts a primary care doctor or behavioral health provider from its network, it cannot simply stop covering visits…
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Social Security says disability decisions now arrive 40 days faster than in January 2025
More than eight million Americans currently receive Social Security Disability Insurance, and the agency says the wait to find out whether a new claim is approved has gotten meaningfully shorter. In a blog post marking the program’s 70th anniversary, the Social Security Administration reported that initial disability decisions are now arriving 40 days faster than…
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Social Security lets a disabled worker earn $1,210 in a month without spending a trial work month
A person who receives Social Security disability benefits and wants to try going back to work has a specific number to watch every month in 2026: $1,210. That figure decides whether a working month counts against the nine months SSA allows a beneficiary to test their ability to work without immediately losing benefits. It rose…
