By Virgil Dickson , Harris Meyer & Lisa Schencker; Modern Healthcare ~ Apr 21, 2016

The CMS has dropped three payment rules that propose increased payments to skilled-nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and hospice care, and implemented new quality measures.

The agency Thursday proposed nearly doubling the increase skilled-nursing facilities received last year. This would amount to a $800 million bump. Last year they only received a 1.2% Medicare rate increase, leading to $430 million in higher payments from the previous year.

From Joanna Belbey; Forbes ~ Apr 18, 2016

Social networking sites use algorithms that dictate what users see. In an attempt to provide relevant content, networks show posts based on past interactions, rather than chronologically, whether users like it or not. In other words, you see what the networks think you want to see, an often criticized approach, as it may limit your worldview.

But, how can you receive information that you may really need, but not be looking for at all?

Healthcare is a perfect example.

Newsmax ~ Apr 18, 2016

This year’s tax day is just an ordinary Monday for 77.5 million Americans who’ll shell out no federal individual income tax at all, according to Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center data.

The Washington-based research center reports an estimated 45.3 percent of U.S. households won’t owe Uncle Sam — half because they have no taxable income and the other half because they get enough tax breaks to erase their liability, Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, tells Market Watch.

By Dan Taylor; MorningTicker ~ Apr 17, 2016

CMS unveiled a massive new initiative that could change the relationship between doctors and patients.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is making a big gamble with health care — and not everyone is convinced it will pay off.

The agency has unveiled a new primary care model that would give doctors more flexibility to decide just how their patients should get care, according to a CMS statement.

By Tammy Webber & Emily Swanson; The Associated Press ~ Apr 16, 2016

CHICAGO (AP) — All that talk of an angry America?

An Associated Press-GfK poll finds that most Americans are happy with their friends and family, feel good about their finances and are more or less content at work. It’s government, particularly the federal government, that’s making them see red.

By Ashlea Ebeling; Forbes ~ Apr 16, 2016

Cindy Levering, a retired consulting actuary for Aon , used to do detailed calculations for non-profit and for-profit clients, helping them manage their defined benefit pension plans. Now she’s helping folks with pensions, one at a time, as a volunteer for the American Academy of Actuaries helpline, the Pension Assistance List.

Why was PAL created? “Not everybody has an uncle that’s an actuary,” says Ted Goldman, a senior pension fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries.

From Howard Gleckman; Forbes ~ Apr 15, 2016

Public opinion surveys show that most Americans incorrectly think Medicare pays for long-term supports and services (LTSS). It does not. But should it? Should Congress add a long-term care benefit to the program’s current package of insurance for hospital care, doctor visits, and drugs?

Three highly respected health researchers, Karen Davis, Amber Willink, and Cathy Schoen, think it should. In a blog post for the journal Health Affairs, they’ve proposed Medicare Help at Home. It has three elements:

By Matthew Frankel; The Motley Fool ~  Apr 10, 2016

You can collect Social Security benefits as early as age 62, and you’re free to work after your benefits start. However, depending on your age and income, working after you file for Social Security can reduce your monthly checks. Here’s what you need to know about the Social Security earnings tests, and what it means to you in the long run.

Three categories of Social Security recipients

By Robert Powell; MarketWatch ~ Apr 10, 2016

The reverse mortgage has won some new respect.

A decade ago, most financial advisers would roll their eyes at the mention of reverse mortgages, loans that give homeowners an advance on their home equity and allow them to delay repayment until the home is sold. Such products, these advisers used to say, weren’t for their clients, but rather for those who didn’t prepare financially for retirement.

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar; The Associated Press ~ Apr 10, 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Medicare proposal to test new ways of paying for chemotherapy and other drugs given in a doctor’s office has sparked a furious battle, and cancer doctors are demanding that the Obama administration scrap the experiment.

The vehement reaction is raising questions about the government’s ability to tackle high drug costs, the top health care concern for the public.