By Michelle Andrew; Kaiser Health News ~ Oct 14, 2016
The incredible shrinking provider network is nothing new in marketplace plans. One way insurers have kept premiums in check on the individual market is by reducing the number of providers available in a plan’s network. Earlier this year, the federal government said that it would introduce a tool this fall to help consumers who are shopping on HealthCare.gov gauge how narrow a plan’s provider network is compared with others in the area.
By Steve Vernon; CBS News ~ Oct 13, 2016
Here’s your chance to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the next several weeks. That’s because it’s Medicare’s open-enrollment period, which offers you the potential to do some smart shopping for your health care coverage.
By Robert Stammers; The Hill ~ Oct 11, 2016
Both candidates missed the mark in Sunday’s debate. Badly. Neither even hinted at the biggest challenge our nation will face in the next decade: the looming crisis in retirement security.
About 10,000 American baby boomers reach age 65 every day. And most are woefully unprepared for retirement.
The average retired couple should plan to spend at least a quarter million dollars on healthcare.
By Matthew Frankel; The Motley Fool ~ Oct 11, 2016
It’s no secret that healthcare costs aren’t getting any lower. In fact, over the past 50 years, healthcare costs have grown at an annualized rate of 6%. This means that healthcare costs today are more than 18 times higher than they were in 1966. Even so, you might be shocked to hear just how much American retirees should plan to spend on healthcare expenses.
By Matthew Perrone; The Associated Press ~ Oct 11, 2016
WASHINGTON (AP) — Medical device maker St. Jude Medical is warning doctors and patients about a rare battery defect in some of its implantable heart devices that can cause them to fail much earlier than expected.
The company said Tuesday the batteries should be replaced immediately after patients receive an electronic, vibrating alert from the device. Normally patients have up to three months to have batteries replaced.
By Chris Isidore; CNNMoney ~ Oct 11, 2016
Checks for 66 million beneficiaries will rise between 0.2% to 0.5% in 2017. That works out to between $2.61 and $6.53 a month more for the typical retiree, according to the American Institute for Economic Research, a nonpartisan think tank.
By Robert Klein; MarketWatch ~ Oct 10, 2016
When you’re in your 40s, 50s and 60s and are vibrant and healthy, it’s hard to imagine that one day you will have difficulty managing your finances. The reality is that although we may be able to delay the onset with a healthy and active lifestyle, one of the first things we lose as we age is the ability to make complex decisions. Given this fact of life, we all need to create a long-term-care plan while we’re fully coherent and have all of our faculties.
By Selena Maranjian, TMF; USA TODAY ~ Oct 10, 2016
The more you know about Medicare, the better decisions you can make related to it — and that can improve the condition of your health and/or wallet.
As you get older, you’ll likely become an enrollee in Medicare, and that will be a welcome benefit for you in this time of steep health care costs. It’s worth learning more about the program, though, in order to understand exactly what it is and how you might make the most of it. Here are five Medicare myths — debunked.
From Ron Williams; Forbes ~ Oct 08, 2016
First, I’m not a doctor and make no claims to understanding their profession the way they do. I have not walked a mile in their shoes. But I have spent 25 years leading health plans including 10 years at the health insurer Aetna culminating as chairman and CEO. I have served as a Board member for Johnson & Johnson and Envision Healthcare (which operates both Envision and AMR).
By Patrick Donegan; Light Reading ~ Oct 07, 2016
In a Light Reading column last July, I argued we were embarking on a new “Phase 3” in the commercial relationships between communications service providers (CSPs) and the web-scale Internet companies (WICs). I noted then that this new era would be “characterized by much closer collaboration.” (See Kevin Lo’s Move to Facebook: Sign of Things to Come?)
