Category: Medicare Stories

Part D Plan Preferred Pharmacies

medicare part d pill bottle

Part D plan preferred pharmacies make using the Medicare.gov Plan Finder difficult and confusing. That’s because Medicare.gov only allows me to put in two pharmacies as I’m searching for drug plans for my clients. I think I am a know-it-all when…

Medicare Advantage Problem

medicare advantage problem

My neighbor called me recently about her Medicare Advantage problem.  Renee has a pacemaker to keep her heart beating properly – but she nearly had a heart attack when her Medicare Advantage plan told her she was not eligible to…

Medicare Outside the U.S.

medicare outside the U.S.

Can you use Medicare outside the U.S.? NO What if you have a Medicare Advantage plan? Some Medicare Advantage plans will pay for emergency care outside the U.S. Today I talked via Skype to a client who has moved to…

$126,000 Hospital Bill and Medicare

This story was originally posted in 2011. My client was shocked by his $126,000 hospital bill. When you spend the night in the hospital, you would assume you had been “admitted” to the hospital – but you could be wrong. …

Observation Status Lies

A friend sent me an email recently about a senior who was told by a doctor that Medicare will not pay for “observation status” in the hospital. This new rule is supposedly part of the Affordable Care Act – but I knew this was not true.

Generic Drug Prices Going Up

Dr David Belk writes an interesting blog, TrueCostofHealthcare.org.  He has recently written about generic drug prices going up over the past year.   He writes: Nearly half of the generic listings surveyed (607 in total) went up in price- many way…

Medicare and AHCCCS Clerical Error

I wrote recently about a client who was thrilled to receive notice from AHCCCS that she qualifies for additional help for her medical costs. I told her something must have changed at AHCCCS because her income is about $60 too…

Medicare and AHCCCS: What’s going on?

The state of Arizona’s Medicaid program will pay the Medicare premium for people with income below $1,333 for an individual) or $1789 for a couple. I wrote about the details of this assistance last year: Help for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries. In…

Medicare Trust Fund Solvent through 2030

Kaiser Health News reports that Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which finances about half the health program for seniors and the disabled, won’t run out of money until 2030. That’s four years later than projected last year and 13 years…