There’s a lot to unpack in the newly-passed, newly-signed American Rescue Plan bill, beyond the fact that the government is once again sending checks out to American families. The goal is to help relieve the economic suffering caused by the COVID pandemic in a variety of sectors. The relief bill makes unemployment benefits more generous, [...]
Even after almost one year of living amidst a worldwide pandemic, many of us are still struggling with this change in our daily lifestyles and habits. Healthcare advocacy has since focused on slowing the spread of the virus, and it seems that basic fitness and wellness concerns have been pushed to the wayside, and understandably [...]
Last Friday, we had the pleasure to talk with Valorie Schwarmann, CFO and Senior Vice President of Homeport, a non-profit housing developer. Valorie oversees the financial systems, processes, planning, and reporting for all lines of business at Homeport. What is Homeport? Homeport is a non-profit housing developer based in Columbus, Ohio. By building quality affordable [...]
Last week we talked with the new director of a nonprofit organization putting in the extra steps to provide funds for research with the fight for cancer. History Established in 1982, Ohio Cancer Research was founded on a common goal-underwriting cancer research in Ohio. Three doctors, Dr. James Neiddhart, Dr.Grant Varian, and Dr. David Yohn [...]
If you haven’t been really, really sick in the last few years, you may not have ever heard of the “donut hole” in Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. This is the common name in the medical field for a quirky coverage gap where, if you incurred $3,750 worth of drug costs in any […]
Flexible Powers When a person comes down with any of various forms of dementia, it means he or she requires additional amounts of care. It also means eventually taking away the checkbook and access to credit cards, to prevent the person with diminishing capacity from responding to Nigerian email pitches or late night infomercials. For […]
We are now in open enrollment on the government (39 states) or state health insurance exchanges (11 states and the District of Columbia)—so this is the time of year when consumers can buy health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In most states, the enrollment season lasts six weeks—half as long as it used [...]
The Alarming Truth About American Healthcare Costs In all the debate over how or whether we need affordable care, state registries, guaranteed coverage despite pre-existing conditions etc. etc., few Americans realize that our U.S. healthcare system has been totally out of control, cost-wise, for decades. A recent study by the Kaiser Foundation found that virtually […]
IRMAA’s Rise Higher income retirees cannot be faulted for thinking that Washington has a hand in their pocket. In 2018, the Medicare Access And CHIP Reauthorization Act lowered the threshold on which Medicare recipients pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) to their Medicare Part B premiums. Previous to this year, the highest premium kicked […]
Medicare’s Future Several items that everybody seems to be overlooking in the recent budget deal signed by President Trump are potentially-significant changes to how Medicare is administered. First on the list is the elimination of Medicare’s independent payment advisory board, authorized under the Affordable Care Act to serve as a check on higher […]
