Feds expect to collect $4.7B in insurance fraud penalties
WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Biden administration estimated Monday that it could collect as much as $4.7 billion from insurance companies with newer and tougher penalties for submitting improper charges on the taxpayers' tab for Medicare Advantage care. The penalties are expected to return $4.7 billion over the next decade, the agency estimated. The questionable payments are submitted through Medicare Advantage, a booming program that nearly half of the 60 million people enrolled in Medicare sign up for. Medicare Advantage is different from traditional Medicare, with private companies offering plans that are reimbursed by the government for care. The move will raise insurance rates, warned Matt Eyles, the president of America's Health Insurance Plans, the lobbying arm for health insurance companies.
wftv.comWhite House blasts McCarthy for comments on strengthening Social Security, Medicare
The White House hit back after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he wants to “strengthen” Medicare and Social Security, arguing on Sunday that the House GOP leader and his conference actually want to slash spending on the entitlement programs. McCarthy said in an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” earlier Sunday that he wants to…
news.yahoo.comLots of sound and fury on US debt, but not a crisis — yet
WASHINGTON — (AP) — For all the sound and fury about raising the nation's debt limit, most economists say federal borrowing is not at a crisis point ... at least not yet. The national debt is the accumulation over time of the yearly deficit. If the government cuts spending or raises taxes, it can trim the deficit and run a surplus, something that last happened in 2001. This has occurred even as the national debt has climbed almost nine-fold since 1991. Voters generally want minimal taxes, but they also want more Social Security, health care and other programs.
wftv.comLots of sound and fury on US debt, but not a crisis — yet
WASHINGTON — (AP) — For all the sound and fury about raising the nation's debt limit, most economists say federal borrowing is not at a crisis point ... at least not yet. President Joe Biden counters that the government spending cuts sought by Republicans in return for a debt limit increase would break the middle class. The national debt is not the yearly deficit, the amount the government outspends its tax revenues. This has occurred even as the national debt has climbed almost nine-fold since 1991. Voters generally want minimal taxes, but they also want more Social Security, health care and other programs.
wftv.comChicago Man Convicted of Participating in Illegal Kickback Conspiracy
A federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois convicted a Chicago man yesterday for participating in a conspiracy to pay approximately $25 million in illegal kickbacks to generate business for his durable medical equipment pharmacy. Without the involvement of the Symed, the conspirators could not have submitted claims to obtain reimbursement from Medicare or other federal health care benefit programs. Sorensen was convicted of one count of conspiracy and three counts of payment of illegal kickbacks. Assistant Chiefs Leslie S. Garthwaite and Daniel J. Griffin of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program.
justice.gov'Damaging cuts' to Medicare and Social Security are looking more likely with McCarthy as House Speaker. Here's what it will mean for retirees.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made concessions to far-right GOP members to win his seat, which likely include cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
news.yahoo.comSupreme Court skeptical of rejecting civil rights precedent
WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed unlikely to agree to overturn decades of precedent in a case about civil rights lawsuits, a result that would preserve the ability of individuals to use federal law to sue. The justices were told that result could leave tens of millions of people who have rights under federal programs including Medicare and Medicaid without access to the courts. The court is being asked to answer whether a person can use Section 1983 to go to court with claims their rights under the nursing home act are violated. Biden administration lawyer Benjamin Snyder told the court that Congress did not intend to allow Section 1983 lawsuits when it enacted the nursing home legislation. A trial court dismissed the case, but a federal court of appeals said it could proceed.
wftv.comSupreme Court skeptical of rejecting civil rights precedent
The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed unlikely to agree to overturn decades of precedent in a case about civil rights lawsuits, a result that would preserve the ability of individuals to use federal law to sue. The justices had been asked to use a case about a nursing home resident who claimed a violation of his rights to more broadly limit the right to sue. The justices were told that result could leave tens of millions of people who have rights under federal programs including Medicare and Medicaid without access to the courts.
news.yahoo.comMedicare enrollees warned about deceptive marketing schemes
With Medicare’s open enrollment underway, health experts are warning older adults about an uptick in misleading marketing tactics that might lead some to sign up for Medicare Advantage plans that don’t cover their doctors or prescriptions and drive up their out-of-pocket costs.
Manchin calls for deal on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid in new Congress
Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday called for a broad bipartisan deal to protect the solvency of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, popular programs that face serious funding issues over the next few decades. “You’re going to get your financial house in order. We cannot live with this crippling debt,” Manchin, whose pivotal vote…
news.yahoo.comGo-broke dates pushed back for Social Security, Medicare
A stronger-than-expected economic recovery from the pandemic has pushed back the go-broke dates for Social Security and Medicare, but officials warn that the current economic turbulence is putting additional pressures on the bedrock retirement programs.