Medicare & Medicaid

With the final January 31 deadline for open enrollment looming, close to 9 million consumers have signed up for healthcare coverage through the marketplace, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Racial and ethnic minority populations are more likely than their white counterparts to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge for certain chronic conditions.

Donald Trump is calling for a change in the way Medicare deals with big pharma prices, a revision long targeted by Democrats.

Deficiencies found in an audit of Cigna-HealthSpring operations has prompted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to temporarily bar Cigna from enrolling new customers to its Medicare Advantage and stand-alone prescription drug plans, and from marketing efforts, according to CMS.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday said a demonstration of new incentives to align dual-eligible spending shows a 6 percent savings, or $21.6 million, in Medicare spending.

CenterLight admitted to improperly billing Medicaid for 1,241 members.

Patricia Akamnonu kept a working Medicare group provider number for her agency for the purposes of submitting Medicare claims for home health services that either weren't needed or were never actually performed, authorities said.

One week after Andy Slavitt said meaningful use would be replaced soon, the acting Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator and national coordinator Karen DeSalvo made it clear that the changes would take time and that providers must still follow the current program.

For people whose income changes shift them above or below the Medicaid threshold during the year, navigating their health insurance coverage can be confusing. Ditto for lower income people who live in states that may expand Medicaid this year.

With full federal funding for expanding Medicaid set to expire at the end this year, President Barack Obama is proposing to indefinitely extend the health law provision for any of the 19 states that have not yet adopted the enhanced eligibility.