Medicare

June 12, 2008 -- AARP issued a statement in response to today’s vote to block necessary Medicare legislation in the U.S. Senate. The statement, from AARP CEO Bill Novelli, follows:

“Partisanship and inaction continued to grip the Senate today, derailing a bipartisan bill to improve Medicare for millions of older Americans. While we thank those Senators from both sides of the aisle who supported this critical bill, we are troubled that people in Medicare will once again see negative consequences because of partisan gridlock.    » read more »

Multi-State Suit Seeks to Overturn Rule that Hurts Needy Patients

April 16, 2008 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced that New York is joining a number of other states in suing the federal government over a newly implemented federal Medicaid rule. The new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule will sharply limit New York’s ability to provide case management to vulnerable populations throughout the state.    » read more »

April 7, 2008 -- With lawmakers returning to Washington, AARP announced the launch of a new effort to “Keep Medicare Fair” when Congress takes up legislation this spring. A new web site, KeepMedicareFair.org, and print advertising will kick off AARP’s work this week with more to come as Congress approaches its June 30 deadline for action.

Photo by vk-red (CC)    » read more »

CMS Web Site Features Updated and More Robust Information to Help Consumers with Their Health Care Choices

Friday, March 28, 2008 -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today posted new survey information at the Hospital Compare consumer Web site offering consumers more insight about the hospitals in their communities.    » read more »

March 27, 2008, Chicago, IL -- Senator Barack Obama issued the following statement today in response to the Report of the Trustees of Social Security and Medicare.    » read more »

3/25/2008 -- At a town hall in Greensburg, Hillary Clinton outlined her plan to help families in Pennsylvania have a secure retirement. Her proposals would help families save, strengthen defined benefit pensions, and strengthen Social Security and Medicare for future generations. Through her American Retirement Accounts Plan, Hillary Clinton would offer 3.4 million Pennsylvania families up to $1,000 in a matching tax cut to save. In addition, Hillary Clinton said she would shore up employer-sponsored pensions pledged to protect Social Security from Bush-McCain privatization efforts.    » read more »

March 19, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Eight out of 10 Americans are concerned about access to care for seniors’ and baby boomers because of government cuts to physicians caring for Medicare patients, according to a new public poll released today by the American Medical Association (AMA). On July 1, Medicare payments to physicians will be cut 10.6 percent, and over the next decade the cuts will grow to about 40 percent while medical practice costs increase 20 percent.    » read more »