Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are devastating conditions for a person and their family and caregivers. The progressive course of dementia can threaten an individual’s autonomy, and families can be emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially strained. Often, a
Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience by Clearing the Path for Comprehensive, High-Quality Dementia Care
Medicare Part D
Listing of blog posts tagged with Medicare Part D
- Blog
Important New Changes to Improve Access to Behavioral Health in Medicare
As we emerge from the COVID-19 public health emergency, it is increasingly clear that we must swiftly improve access to effective mental health and substance use disorder (collectively called behavioral health) treatment in order to meet the growing demand for such services. For older Americans and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicare, many individuals have felt the effects of worsening depression and anxiety or have struggled with the use of substances like opioids or alcohol. As doctors, we have seen first-hand how behavioral health treatment can improve the health and well-being of Read more about Important New Changes to Improve Access to Behavioral Health in Medicare - Blog
CMS Drug Spending Dashboards and the Inflation Reduction Act
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the annual update to the Drug Spending Dashboards with data for 2021. These dashboards are interactive, online tools that allow consumers, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to understand changes in spending on prescription drugs in the Medicare Part B, Medicare Part D and Medicaid programs. Today’s release represents the seventh annual update to the Drug Spending Dashboards. Since the first release of the dashboards in 2015, CMS has continued to enhance and expand the dashboards to provide greater transparency into Read more about CMS Drug Spending Dashboards and the Inflation Reduction Act - Blog
Addressing Rural Health Inequities in Medicare
Approximately 61 million Americans live in rural Tribal, and geographically isolated communities across the United States. These communities often experience significant health inequities. Compared to urban Americans, rural Americans are more likely to have heart disease, stroke, cancer, unintentional injuries, suicide risk, and chronic lung disease, and have higher death rates from COVID-19. As clinicians, we have seen these rural health disparities first-hand. One example is a patient who lived far from a health care facility, didn’t have a usual source of care, and didn’t tell anyone about Read more about Addressing Rural Health Inequities in Medicare - Blog
Strengthening Behavioral Health Care for People with Medicare
Note: This blog is an updated version from the July 7, 2022 blog . This updated blog reflects the new behavioral health policies in CMS’ finalized CY 2023 Physician Fee Schedule and Outpatient Prospective Payment System rules. COVID-19 has exacerbated the nation’s struggle with mental health and substance use disorders (collectively called “behavioral health conditions”), fueling a full-blown crisis. For some Americans during the pandemic, this has meant feeling depressed and hopeless, making it challenging for them to perform everyday tasks. For older Americans and people with disabilities Read more about Strengthening Behavioral Health Care for People with Medicare - Blog
Strengthening Behavioral Health Care for People with Medicare
Note: CMS published a subsequent blog on November 1, 2022, that reflects the behavioral health policies in CMS’ finalized CY 2023 Physician Fee Schedule and Outpatient Prospective Payment System rules. Read the November 1, 2022 blog. COVID-19 has exacerbated the nation’s struggle with mental health and substance use disorders (collectively called “behavioral health conditions”), fueling a full-blown crisis. For some Americans during the pandemic, this has meant feeling depressed and hopeless, making it challenging for them to perform everyday tasks. For older Americans and people with Read more about Strengthening Behavioral Health Care for People with Medicare - Blog
Medicare Shared Savings Program: Celebrating 10 Years and Looking Forward to the Future
April marks the 10-year anniversary of the start of the agreement period for the first Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (Shared Savings Program) – an ambitious program to reward health care providers for improving health care for people with Medicare. The program now includes 483 ACOs with over 525,000 participating clinicians serving more than 11 million Medicare beneficiaries. Shared Savings Program ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who join together voluntarily to give coordinated, high-quality care to Medicare Read more about Medicare Shared Savings Program: Celebrating 10 Years and Looking Forward to the Future