Medicare spending has leveled off over more than a decade. One reason why: The Affordable Care Act reduced Medicare’s payments to hospitals and health insurers, reducing per-person spending.

Unfinished business now is finding a way to add dental/vision/hearing benefits to original Medicare. Could they be added to Part B Supplemental Plans or established as a new Part E? People shouldn't be pressured into private Medicare "Advantage" Plans.

#ACA #Medicare
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/05/upshot/medicare-budget-threat-receded.html

"No OnE iS sUrE wHy" #healthcare #Medicare
@dougjballoon

The biggest priorities for U.S. health care are closing the Medicaid coverage gap in the ACA-holdout red states and adding dental/vision/hearing benefits to original Medicare.

Unfortunately, it will take progressive supermajorities in both houses of Congress to pass something like single-payer.

It is great for Dems to tout Medicare being able to negotiate drug prices, but let’s hear about what more progress they would make if they win.
#healthcare #healthinsurance #Medicaid #Medicare #ACA

#PrescriptionDrugs #Medicare

It's about time!!! 👏

The reported profits in the BILLIONS of $$'s to drug companies from the sale of it's prescription drugs to Medicare particpants is obscene!!!😡

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/29/10-drugs-to-face-medicare-price-negotiations-see-the-list.html

U.S. Announces First Drugs Picked for #Medicare Price Negotiations https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/29/us/politics/medicare-drug-pricing-negotiations.html

After #NikkiHaley called #DonaldTrump “the most disliked politician in America” during the first #RepublicanPrimary #PredidentialDebate , she has *again* boldly staked-out a moderate Republican stand on #SocialSecurity and #Medicare (#BananaRepublicans want to eliminate both). 👉 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nikki-haley-raise-retirement-age_n_64eb83dce4b0fcbba8993092

#PrimaryFromTheCenter to #SaveAmerica and put extremist 💩 👉 🚽. #MATH

Today #Madonna qualifies for #Medicare.

I hope she has a fantastic and very happy birthday.

We should all qualify for an enhanced Medicare that includes dental/vision/hearing benefits.

My fellow Americans often say "buT wHAt about the WaiT TiMez" when advocates talk about instituting a medicare for all type system in the US.

I just had my first experience with the Australian healthcare system. Granted, I don't even have my medicare card yet. I paid for an MRI out of pocket for...about 200 USD.

It took one day to schedule.

So, yeah. To my American friends. For MRIs it seems the wait times are pretty swift here.

#Medicare #Australia #USA

It's insane that teeth, eyes, and ears were left out of regular health insurance in America. Support the Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act

They should be declared essential benefits for the ACA too. #Medicare #Medicaid #healthinsurance #healthcare

https://www.casey.senate.gov/news/releases/casey-cardin-bill-would-expand-medicaid-and-medicare-dental-vision-hearing-coverage

Medical staff desperately needed. Please apply within. Thanks, Signed, USA! 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

#doctors #nurses #medical #profession #shortage #lack #hospital #usa #obamacare #medicare #coverage #covid

Don’t let the rainbow fool you. #Merck is currently:
1) advocating for multiple doses of #gardasil when one is sufficient
2) promoting #molnupiravir despite its ineffectiveness and risks to both patients and global health
3) suing to block #medicare from negotiating drug prices

Republicans screamed and shouted when President Biden called them out in his State of the Union speech about wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare -- and then they went ahead and proposed their dream of gutting #SocialSecurity and #Medicare to finance tax cuts for billionaires.
#politics #USpolitics
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/15/2175584/-House-GOP-makes-it-official-Ending-Social-Security-and-Medicare-is-the-goal

(3) #MEDICARE. Last week, Merck sued the US government over a new law that will allow Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices — a common practice worldwide.

Failure to negotiate is one reason a vial of insulin costs $300 in the US but $30 in Canada. 10/12 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/business/merck-medicare-drug-prices.html

HEALTH POLICY DISCUSSION:
We create a new "Diamond" Level Plan for the #ACA with no co-pays or deductibles. Premiums would be fully subsidized for everyone under 138% of the federal poverty line. The advantage is that instead of people going on and off #Medicaid, there would be one public #HealthInsurance system for those under 65 and no coverage gap.

#Medicare should be open to everyone, but that isn't passing until we have filibuster-proof supermajorities in Congress.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06-medicaid-purge-staggering-americans-coverage.html

@GottaLaff

Of course they did!

#Merckgreed #Medicare

If you don't care about what Ron DeSantis would do as President to people of color and LGBTs, perhaps you should care about what he would do to your health care. Good article in the @losangelestimes
#heatlhcare #medicare #medicaid #ACA
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-05-22/florida-desantis-california-insurance-obamacare

After all that fierce debate over Medicare for All versus a #PublicOption, we haven't even closed the #Medicaid coverage gap in the red states, and now Republicans want to gut #Medicaid entirely (and would gut #Medicare and the #ACA if they thought they could get away with it). Yes, I know there is a limited drug pricing bill that was passed, but it is so little compared to what we hoped for in 2000.
#HealthCare #HealthInsurance #UniversalHealthCare
https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-debt-limit-bill-could-put-over-10-million-at-risk-of-losing-medicaid-analysis

It's ridiculous that eyes, ears, and teeth were ever separated from regular #healthinsurance. Adult dental, vision, and hearing benefits should be part of all standard #ACA, #Medicare, and #Medicaid plans. (Pediatric benefits are already included).

Referenced link: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-medicare-drugs-added-therapeutic-benefit.html
Discuss on https://discu.eu/q/https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-medicare-drugs-added-therapeutic-benefit.html

Originally posted by Phys.org / @physorg_com: http://nitter.platypush.tech/medical_xpress/status/1648353207154769926#m

RT by @physorg_com: Study: Over half of top selling #Medicare drugs have low added #therapeuticbenefit @brighamwomens @JAMA_current https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-medicare-drugs-added-therapeutic-benefit.html

For all the ferocious debate in the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary about whether we'd support #MedicareForAll or a #PublicOption, we had a rare Democratic trifecta and couldn't even close the #Medicaid coverage gap in the red states. Meaningful change like #SocialSecurity, #Medicare, and the #ACA required large Democratic trifectas to pass. #politics #USpol #healthcare