medicare

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has risen by 10% in the past year and premiums have dropped by 7%, despite billions of dollars in reimbursement cuts to the program, HHS officials announced Wednesday.

Medicare Advantage premiums have fallen by 7 percent on average and enrollment has risen by about 10 percent since this time last year, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Most hospital errors that result in harm to Medicare patients go unreported, and even when they are, hospitals rarely change the way they operate in order to prevent similar errors in the future, according to a new report from federal investigators.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- The final physician payment rule for 2012 will cut Medicare payments to doctors by 27.4% starting Jan. 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Hospital stays for heart failure fell a remarkable 30 percent in Medicare patients over a decade, the first such decline in the United States and forceful evidence that the nation is making headway in reducing the billion-dollar burden of a common condition....

(MedPage Today) -- One in three Medicare patients undergoes inpatient surgery in their last year of life, often during the final month, according to a new study.

The fall is the time to reflect on the new year ahead and to make critical decisions that will affect your health and your pocketbook.

For seniors aged 65 and above, Medicare's annual open enrollment period is around the corner. If you are enrolled in Medicare, this is your chance to make unrestricted changes to your coverage options.

(MedPage Today) -- Men who underwent prostate biopsy were more than twice as likely to be hospitalized within 30 days compared with men who did not undergo the procedure, a study of Medicare beneficiaries showed.

The Obama administration had good news for seniors: The average monthly premium for Medicare's prescription program won't go up next year.

(MedPage Today) -- Lower inhospital treatment costs associated with hospitalist care for Medicare beneficiaries were erased by higher rates of readmission and emergency department visits after discharge, researchers said, suggesting that current hospitalist models actually increase overall costs.