A Medicare premium bill dated 2026 can be built almost entirely on income reported for 2024, and unless someone tells Social Security otherwise, that gap doesn’t close on its own. A household whose earnings dropped after retirement, widowhood, a layoff or a pension freeze can still be charged as though the higher, older income were…

A prescription that cost $527 for a 30-day supply in 2023 now rings up at $113 at pharmacies across the country, and Januvia is only one of ten drugs where that math changed on January 1, 2026. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services spent 2024 negotiating directly with manufacturers under the Inflation Reduction Act,…

CMS says it stopped nearly $24 million in claims from two medical-equipment suppliers before payment. The figure appears in the agency’s September 8 announcement about a larger enforcement action involving durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies. It describes payment safeguards used before Medicare money was sent, not a new benefit or a refund program…

CMS says it has suspended more than $539 million in suspected fraudulent Medicare payments in 2026. The amount appears in the agency’s August 28 program-integrity update and refers to payment suspensions, not money added to a beneficiary’s coverage or available as a public refund. A suspension is a payment-control step. CMS can temporarily withhold payments…

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it has collected $378 million in Medicare overpayments through post-payment reviews in 2026. That figure is part of the agency’s August 28 update on program-integrity work. It describes money CMS says was recovered after claims had been paid; it is not a new payment, refund or enrollment…

CMS says its current Medicare enrollment moratoria cover high-risk home-health agencies, hospices and certain durable medical equipment suppliers. The agency’s Medicare Enrollment Moratoria Fast Facts describes the policy as part of a fraud-prevention effort aimed at providers that can generate improper payments. The policy is about providers entering Medicare, not a new enrollment freeze for…

The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report is available, and CMS identifies it as the most recent annual report on the program’s financial operations and actuarial status. The CMS trustees page says the Boards issued the report on June 9, 2026, and provides the report, supplementary tables and figures. The report is a projection document, not a…

CMS says its enforcement actions have stopped more than $1.6 billion in potentially improper Medicare laboratory payments since the start of the current administration. The agency’s August 28 announcement says $732 million of that total was associated with revoking 157 laboratory providers from Medicare. The numbers describe payments CMS says it prevented or addressed through…

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has taken action against 11 durable-medical-equipment suppliers after identifying more than $3.4 billion in suspected fraudulent billing across 2025 and 2026. The agency says the companies are being barred from future Medicare Advantage Part C and Part D payments through the federal Preclusion List. The case matters beyond…

A Florida pulmonary practice has agreed to pay $419,410 to resolve federal allegations that it billed Medicare for office visits that were medically unnecessary or coded at a higher level than the services supported. The settlement covers claims from January 2017 through March 2020 and does not represent a court finding that every allegation was…