Leaked HHS budget would gut SHIP/HICAP Medicare counseling programs, often the only source of unbiased info and advice about Medicare Advantage, Part D, TM, Medigap.Officials said this would be devastating, leaving seniors to sort agents' truth from hype. tinyurl.com/49trxy6h

Great story by @susanjaffe of KHN, with KFF analysis that tempers some CMS claims that Part D premiums are dropping and plan choice will stay the same in 2025. My Cigna premium will increase, but not by much. medpagetoday.com/publichealt…

Oh Oh Tennessee. Despite law — and severe MD shortages  — foreign-school docs can't apply. Med board says first concern is patient safety. @medpagetoday medpagetoday.com/special-rep…

Shld docs treat family, friends? Write Rx? Surgery? Ethics experts, AMA say no except for minor issues or emergencies. A MO plastic surgeon thinks he shouldn't be labeled unethical for operating on his wife. But his hospital blocked him. @medpagetoday tinyurl.com/4h4kenmr

Medicare, Social Security trust funds need input from public trustees rather than just the 4 Cabinet members in place. But for 9 years, nada. Cuz the 2 public appointees weren't confirmed. What are we missing? It's politics. I explain: tinyurl.com/3yj299tj @medpagetoday

A patient trapped in a hospital bed for more than 3 years because no suitable discharge setting. Hospitals are becoming like the Hotel California. Like you can never leave. Many more like him. System sucks. medpagetoday.com/special-rep…

Ex Vanderbilt nurse goes live explaining circumstances and systemic practices leading to her giving fatal vecuronium to patient in 2017, hopes advice can make care safer. medpagetoday.com/special-rep…

MedPAC says the quiet part outloud.Medicare Advantage quality ratings are seriously flawed, and no way shows the better plans. They score at the contract level, which doesn't say how good the plan's doctors and hospitals in your town are. @medpagetoday medpagetoday.com/publichealt…

Don Berwick throws down on Medicare Advantage plans for lots of reasons. He would never be in one. @medpagetoday medpagetoday.com/special-rep…

Bernie, senators pummel bigpharma CEOs for charging more for drugs here than other countries. They make millions in salary, and have billions for stock buyback, dividends, and spend ginormous sums on lobbyists to get their way, he says. tinyurl.com/3j3mrv95 @medpagetoday

Scoop. Medical Board of California officially reprimands Simone Gold for her role in Jan. 6 insurrection, effective feb. 2. But judge hearing the case refused state's desire for 5-year-probation. She does have to take ethics classes, though. tinyurl.com/yn6pntxb @medpagetoday

Medicare Advantage plan companies now enroll eligible beneficiaries at such rapid rates, and charging Medicare a lot more than fee for service, I asked the MedPAC chair the obvious question. Will everyone eventually have no choice but MA? @MedPageToday tinyurl.com/mryw4t2u

Big news for 30,000 San Diego patients in MA plans with two large Scripps physician networks. Fed up CEO is dropping MA plans effective 2024, meaning everybody got to find another doctor or another plan. Part of a national trend? @medpagetoday medpagetoday.com/special-rep…

CMS adm. Chiquita B-LaSure says those annoying (she didn't say that word but...) ads hawking Medicare Advantage plans will be different this re-enrollment period because her people will be pre-approving them. Less predatory. We'll see. @medpagetoday medpagetoday.com/special-rep…

Hospitals need to figure out how to vet job seekers, especially those who would sit in executive slots. The Philadelphia Inquirer has the latest episode in the saga of someone the U.S. Attorney's office called "a con man" recently hired by Penn Medicine. medpagetoday.com/special-rep…

Medicare's abrupt, secret SAD SAD policy left George Beitzel with a $176K bill 4 Stelara injections. It no longer pays for a nurse to administer shots. Some patients can no longer afford Part D co-pays for this drug, one of the most $$. @medpagetoday tinyurl.com/ytjhz6f7