Tag: Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program

A Few Pointers To Help Save Money And Avoid The Strain Of Medicare Enrollment

By Susan Jaffe | Kaiser Health News | Oct. 17, 2017 | This article also ran in   and 

Older or disabled Americans with Medicare coverage have probably noticed an uptick in mail solicitations from health insurance companies, which can mean only one thing: It’s time for the annual Medicare open enrollment.

Most beneficiaries have from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7 to decide which of dozens of private plans offer the best drug coverage for 2018 or whether it’s better to leave traditional Medicare and get a drug and medical combo policy called Medicare Advantage.

Some tips for the novice and reminders for those who have been here before can make the process a little easier. [Continued at Kaiser Health News, USA Today and The Washington Post]

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$18 For A Baby Aspirin? Hospitals Hike Costs For Everyday Drugs For Some Patients

By Susan Jaffe | April 30, 2012 |  KAISER HEALTH NEWS produced in collaboration with usat 4sidebar

For the price Diane Zachor, 66, was charged for one pill to control high pressure during her 18 hour stay at St. Luke’s Hospital In Duluth, MinZachorn., she could have bought a three-week supply.  In South Florida, Pearl Beras, 85, of Boca Raton, Fla., said her hospital charged $71 for one blood pressure pill for which her neighborhood pharmacy charges 16 cents. Several other Medicare patients in Missouri were billed $18 for a single baby aspirin, said Ruth Dockins, a senior advocate at the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging.

It’s no mistake: When Medicare patients are in hospitals for observation, they can be charged any amount for routine drugs to treat chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.  Medicare doesn’t cover these type of medications and doesn’t require hospitals to tell patients when they are in observation status or that they will be responsible for paying any non-Medicare-covered services.   

“I just couldn’t believe some of these prices they charge,” said Zachor (left). “It’s just atrocious.”  [More from USA Today or from Kaiser Health News]