Monday, October 17, 2011– 2:00 P.M., Eastern Time   Call-in Number: 1(888)206-2266  Pass Code: 1050263#   NOTE: We ask people calling from the same location to gather around one telephone. This frees up lines and holds down costs.   ______________________     Special Topic Presentation:   The Supercommittee and Medicare: What Advocates Need to Know    … Read more →

Advocates at the Center for Medicare Advocacy are working on a case involving an individual who was in a hospital bed for four days but was never "formally admitted". Instead, the hospital accorded her "observation status". Although Medicare Part B covered her, she has not only not been unable to obtain a determination of Part … Read more →

The Medicare statute and regulations authorize payment for skilled nursing facility (SNF) care for a beneficiary who, among other requirements, was a hospital inpatient for at least three days before the admission to the SNF.  The Center for Medicare Advocacy has written before about difficulties in calculating hospital time for purposes of using Medicare's post-acute … Read more →

Much of the current talk about the problems of Medicare misses the point. The proposals could end up "fixing" a successful program out of existence. Before supporting any fix, remember: Medicare has been a success Medicare assures the elderly and people with disabilities that neither they nor their families will have to bear the full … Read more →

Starting July 1, 2007, hospitals participating in the traditional or Medicare Advantage Medicare program must provide beneficiaries with a new notice of discharge and appeal rights, as discussed in last week’s Weekly Alert. This Weekly Alert describes the new notice as well as beneficiary rights to question and appeal hospital discharge decisions and to receive … Read more →

Medicare patients who are hospitalized sometimes find themselves being told to leave the hospital too soon, before they can safely be cared for at home or at a nursing home.[1]    The protections provided for hospital patients in this situation have recently been improved, due to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. … Read more →

Beyond QIO: Modeling a Medicare Beneficiary Complaint Process for Quality of Care A working conference convened on January 19, 2007 in Washington, DC by the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc., supported by the Commonwealth Fund, a New York City-based private foundation, and AARP Introduction The Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc., (the Center), convened a working … Read more →

The month of December began with World AIDS Day, an international day of action on HIV and AIDS. When advising Medicare beneficiaries with the diagnoses of HIV and AIDS, be aware that Medicare covers a wide array of services, for those living with HIV/AIDS including the terminal stages of AIDS.  Services covered include hospital, skilled … Read more →

With the stark and frightening images of homeless, dispossessed, and desperate people in their thoughts, Center for Medicare Advocacy employees reacted with enthusiasm to an idea that united them with the Center in providing assistance.  They then urged other employers and employees to consider similar arrangements. The plan was simple.  Each Center employee was asked … Read more →

Older Americans are not getting six key preventive services or appropriate treatment for hypertension that clinical practice guidelines indicate they generally should receive, according to two studies recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  The preventive services study raises questions about disparities in health care based on economic status, and about the … Read more →