Category: Medicare
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Medicare’s negotiated price for the inhaler Breo Ellipta is $67 a month starting January 1, down from a $397 list price
There is a specific group of people for whom this number means something immediately: the 626,000 Medicare Part D enrollees who filled a Breo Ellipta prescription in a single year, most of them managing COPD or asthma. Starting January 1, 2027, Medicare’s negotiated price for a 30-day supply of that inhaler is $67. The 2024…
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A subsidy holding down standalone Medicare drug-plan premiums ends after this year
Every fall, before open enrollment opens, your Medicare drug plan mails you an Annual Notice of Change. Most people skim it. This year, if you are in a standalone prescription drug plan rather than a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage, the premium line is worth a slower read, because a federal support that has…
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Fairview stops scheduling UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients on January 1, and names three insurers it will still take
If you carry a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage card in Minnesota, this change will most likely reach you at a scheduling desk. You call to book a follow-up for next spring, you read off the name printed on the card, and the answer is that the appointment cannot be made. M Health Fairview has put the…
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Ohio State’s hospitals go out of network with 16 Humana plans on October 1
Take the Humana card out of your wallet and read the plan name printed on it. The full name is what matters here, not just the word “Humana,” because Ohio State has published a list of sixteen specific Humana plans and the list is the whole story. On October 1, 2026, every plan on it…
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Humana is dropping Medicare Advantage plans covering 600,000 members, with letters landing in September
If you get your Medicare coverage through a Humana Advantage plan, the mail this fall could carry a decision that reshapes your 2027. Humana has confirmed it will exit Medicare Advantage plans covering roughly 600,000 members next year, and affected households are expected to start receiving notification letters in September. A dropped plan is not…
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A Medicare program called Extra Help can cut a senior’s drug costs by about $5,900 a year
There is a Medicare program that can slash what a senior pays for prescription drugs, and Social Security estimates it is worth about $5,900 a year to those who qualify. It is called Extra Help, and despite that hefty value, many people who are eligible never sign up, often because they have never heard of…
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NewYork-Presbyterian could go out of network with UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans on September 1
If you carry a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan and get your care at NewYork-Presbyterian, a coverage change could land on your doorstep at the start of next month. The hospital system and the insurer have kept current coverage in place through August 31, 2026 while they try to reach a new contract, but if they…
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A little-known Medicare program can pay your Part B premium for low-income seniors
Every month, Medicare quietly deducts the Part B premium from millions of Social Security checks. For seniors with limited income, that deduction stings, and many do not realize the government has a program that can cover it entirely. Medicare Savings Programs help people with modest income and savings pay their Part B premium, and the…
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Moffitt, Florida’s top cancer hospital, is now out of network for Humana and Aetna Medicare Advantage plans
For a Florida retiree fighting cancer, the name of the hospital on the insurance card can matter as much as the diagnosis. Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer hospital, is now out of network for several of the biggest Medicare Advantage plans in the market. If you or a…
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Medicare’s fall open enrollment, October 15 to December 7, is the one window most seniors can switch plans
Once a year, Medicare opens a door that stays shut most of the rest of the time. From October 15 to December 7, nearly everyone on Medicare can change their coverage, and whatever you choose kicks in at the start of the new year. With insurers reshaping their plans for 2027, this is the window…
