Medicare Set-Aside, Workers’ Compensation, Medical Case Management
A recent study from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society concludes that Medicare enrollees’ understanding of their benefits may affect their access to medical care, and could ultimately lead them to avoid seeking care altogether.
During fiscal year 2008, Part-D expenditures totaled approximately $44 billion, $6 billion lower than estimates. Primary factors for the lower expenditures include increased reliance on generic drugs, fewer enrollees than expected, and beneficiary avoidance of the “doughnut hole.”
Last month, US District Court Judge Henry Kennedy blocked a directive from the Bush administration to limit Medicare payments to the least costly medications. Kennedy ruled that CMS does not have the authority to redefine reimbursement rates that are originally set by Congress.
