CDC recommends Spring 2024 COVID-19 booster for older adults
CDC Director Mandy Cohen endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for adults ages 65 years and older to receive an additional updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine dose. The recommendation acknowledges the increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 in older adults, along with the currently available...
Beware of Medicare Advertising
It’s ridiculous how much insurance companies advertise Medicare insurance offerings. They must really make a lot of money. Primarily the advertising is for Medicare Advantage (Part C) insurance. Medicare Advantage is private insurance that separates your Medicare insurance from Original Medicare. Your healthcare services will not be approved and...
Social Security payroll tax maximum earnings increases
The maximum earnings subject to Social Security for 2024 is $168,600. That is a 5.24% ($8,400) increase over the 2023 maximum earnings amount for 2023 of $160,200. Employees (6.2%) and employers (6.2%) contribute equally to the Social Security taxes (12.4%). Thus, an employee who made $168,600 or more in...
Medicare increases Part B premiums nearly 6% for 2024
On October 12, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2024 premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts for the Medicare Part A and Part B programs, and the 2024 Medicare Part D income-related monthly adjustment amounts. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will...
Social Security Cost of Living Increase for 2024 is 3.2%
“Social Security Announces 3.2 Percent Benefit Increase for 2024.” Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 71 million Americans will increase 3.2 percent in 2024, the Social Security Administration announced today. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by more than $50 per month...
Medicare to enhance Medicare Advantage coverage decisions
January 1, 2024, the “Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services begins restricting how Medicare Advantage plans use predictive technology tools to make some coverage decisions. “ Predictive technology uses computer software to determine how much care a Medicare Advantage plan customer may need. Thus, not taking in the full picture...
Medicare Open Enrollment – Oct. 15 to Dec. 7
Medicare health and drug plans can make changes each year—things like cost, coverage, and what providers and pharmacies are in their networks. “October 15 to December 7 is when all people with Medicare can change their Medicare health plans and prescription drug coverage for the following year to better...
Elder orphans and solo agers, plan for the future
… “elder orphans” (older people without a spouse or children on whom they can depend) and “solo agers” (older adults without children, living alone), … expecting to move through later life without the safety net of a spouse, a son or a daughter who will step up to provide...
Dementia villages on the rise
But barely in the U.S. From the New York Times, “As Cases Soar, ‘Dementia Villages’ Look Like the Future of Home Care” “A new generation of treatment facilities is aiming to integrate dementia patients with the communities around them, blurring lines between home and hospital.” The article discusses a...
Drug Coverage under the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act under the Biden Administration reduces drug costs, stabilizes the cost of insulin, lowers the cost of insulin, increases vaccine coverage, and more. Here are some frequently asked questions about how the Inflation Reduction Act affects drug coverage under Medicare. For example, “Beginning January 1, 2023,...