medicare

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Amid Heightened Medicare Fraud Concerns, State Consumer Hotline Program Helps

Oregon program received more than 700 reports of fraud or marketing scams in 2021.

Oct 19, 2022
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GUNDULA VOGEL/PIXABAY

Nursing Home Surprise: Advantage Plans May Shorten Stays To Less Time Than Medicare Covers

Half of the nearly 65 million people with Medicare are enrolled in the private health plans called Medicare Advantage.

Oct 6, 2022

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STEVE BUISSINNE/PIXABAY

While Inflation Takes A Toll On Seniors, Billions Of Dollars In Benefits Go Unused

Tens of billions of dollars of benefits, including from Medicare, are going unused every year because seniors don’t know about them, find applications too difficult to complete, or feel conflicted about asking for help.

Sep 13, 2022

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U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland in 2016. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Wyden Launches Inquiry Into Deceptive Medicare Marketing

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden asks Oregon and 14 other states for information about consumer complaints.

Aug 23, 2022
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SHUTTERSTOCK

How Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Would Change Under U.S. Senate Democrats’ Bill

Under the legislation, Medicare would start negotiating the prices of some drugs in the program’s prescription drug plan, beginning four years from now.

Aug 11, 2022

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GERD ALTMANN/PIXABAY

No, Senate-Passed Reconciliation Bill Won’t Strip $300 Billion From Medicare

An ad misleadingly paints what is more accurately characterized as nearly $300 billion in savings for consumers and taxpayers.

Aug 11, 2022

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Courtesy photo.

Q&A: Ken Provencher Retiring from PacificSource Health Plans

The CEO and president of PacificSource Health Plans is stepping down in March, the regional Springfield-based insurer recently announced.

Jul 5, 2022
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Oregon State Hospital in Salem. | BEN BOTKIN/THE LUND REPORT

Feds Threaten Decertification Of Oregon State Hospital's Junction City Campus

The state-run mental hospital must improve patient safety at its satellite campus or it will lose eligibility for Medicare funding, inspectors warn.

May 9, 2022
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An epic tug of war is playing out behind the scenes over whether the government should pay for Aduhelm, a controversial Alzheimer’s drug that scientists say has not been proven to work./Lydia Zuraw/KHN

Inside The Tactical Tug Of War Over The Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug

Pharmaceutical industry and patients representatives want to stop restricting Medicare funding for a controversial Alzheimer’s drug. Critics say it should never have been approved.

Feb 17, 2022

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Health Care Paradox: Medicare Penalizes Dozens Of Hospitals It Also Gives Five Stars

A federal program penalizes hospitals for having the high numbers of patient infections and potentially avoidable complications, but many of them it simultaneously rates as among the best in the country.

Feb 10, 2022