Tyler Foster
Latest Articles by Tyler Foster
Losing Medicaid coverage lets a person join Medicare Part B without the late enrollment penalty
The Medicare & You 2027 handbook confirms a narrow but consequential rule: a person who recently lost Medicaid coverage, and who had not signed up...
COBRA and retiree coverage do not open the Medicare special enrollment period
A worker who retires at 62 and elects COBRA to bridge the years before Medicare eligibility is making a bet that could cost thousands of...
Medicare is writing the end of the drug coverage gap into permanent regulation for 2027
A finalized regulation for contract year 2027 does something narrower than it sounds: it converts a set of temporary Medicare program instructions into permanent federal...
Medicare’s 2027 Extra Help limits are still unpublished and every figure circulating is an estimate
Medicare’s Extra Help program still limits eligibility to $23,940 in yearly income and $18,090 in countable resources for a single applicant, the exact figures posted...
Medicare Advantage plans are rated on up to 43 quality measures and drug plans on 12
How many things does a star rating actually measure, and does the count mean the same thing from one plan type to the next? Under...
Medicare Advantage quality programs no longer have to include work that narrows health disparities
Medicare Advantage insurers no longer have to show that their annual quality improvement work does anything to close health gaps between enrollees of different races,...
Health savings accounts and reimbursement arrangements are exempt from Medicare’s creditable coverage notices
On April 6, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published its Contract Year 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule, effective June...
Medicare plans will be graded on depression screening beginning with the 2027 measurement year
One thing federal regulators decided to start counting, and one thing they decided to stop counting, arrived in the same Medicare Advantage rule. Depression screening...
Federal rules limiting when and how a licensed agent may talk to a Medicare shopper have been erased
A retiree who signs a Scope of Appointment form with a Medicare agent this fall can expect that agent to move straight into a plan-specific...
Medicare’s diabetes prevention program adds virtual-only providers and self-paced sessions
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has told beneficiaries in the newly released Medicare & You 2027 handbook that anyone enrolled in the Medicare...
A drug program for newly eligible low-income enrollees no longer has to staff a call center 12 hours a day
Eight a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, in every region of the country: that was the toll-free phone standard CMS required of the...
Medicare will let accountable care groups monitor patients with smartwatches and wearables starting January 1
Starting January 1, 2027, Medicare says it will begin exploring new ways to improve Accountable Care Organizations, including giving provider groups access to smartwatches and...
Medicare says it is running artificial intelligence against claims to stop improper payments before they go out
Eleven medical equipment suppliers with more than $3.4 billion in suspected fraudulent billing lost access to Medicare Advantage payments on September 8, one line item...
A new Medicare model called ACCESS pairs enrollees with technology-supported care meant to lower total costs
Since July 5, 2026, Medicare has been running a ten-year test of a new way to pay for chronic-disease care called ACCESS, and the newly...
Green card holders, Cuban-Haitian entrants and COFA migrants still qualify under Medicare’s new eligibility rule
A lawful permanent resident who received a green card six years ago and turns 65 next spring does not lose Medicare access under the citizenship...
TrumpRx and other discount cards do not count toward a Medicare deductible or out-of-pocket maximum
Medicare’s own consumer website carries a specific caution about TrumpRx.gov and similar prescription discount cards: using one to buy a drug, in place of a...
