Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
Medicare covers a free annual wellness visit that many seniors skip, missing no-cost screenings
Four in ten Medicare beneficiaries skipped a free preventive visit in 2022 that could have connected them to no-cost screenings for conditions like diabetes, depression,...
You get a one-time six-month window to buy any Medigap plan when you first enroll in Medicare
Anyone turning 65 and signing up for Medicare Part B gets exactly six months to purchase a Medigap supplement plan with no health screening, no...
Medicare now covers Wegovy and Zepbound for a flat $50 a month under a new bridge program
Starting today, millions of Medicare enrollees can fill prescriptions for popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs at a flat $50 per month, a fraction of what these...
Medicare’s Part D deductible jumps to $700 for 2027, the amount you pay before coverage kicks in
Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part D prescription drug plans will face a standard deductible of $700 in 2027, up from the current cap. The increase...
California reinstates a $130,000 Medi-Cal asset cap that could cost seniors long-term-care coverage
Seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medi-Cal for nursing-home care now face a financial test that California had suspended just a few years...
Social Security’s 2027 raise now looks like 3.8%, about $74 more a month for the average retiree
Retired workers collecting Social Security stand to receive roughly $74 more per month starting in January 2027, based on early cost-of-living adjustment projections tracking at...
Medicare’s out-of-pocket drug cap rises to $2,400 in 2027, and then you pay nothing more
Medicare beneficiaries who spend heavily on prescription drugs will hit a hard annual ceiling of $2,400 in out-of-pocket costs starting in 2027, after which their...
ECU Health hospitals leave UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage network this week, risking big bills
Thousands of Medicare Advantage enrollees in eastern North Carolina face the prospect of sharply higher out-of-pocket costs as ECU Health hospitals exit UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage...
Social Security’s retirement fund is now projected to pay just 78% of benefits after late 2032
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement checks face a sharper deadline than previously estimated. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund...
Medicare’s negotiated price cuts semaglutide to about $274 a month starting in 2027
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on semaglutide for diabetes or weight management are set to pay sharply less starting January 1, 2027, when negotiated maximum fair...
Medicare’s insulin stays capped at $35 a month per covered product in 2027
Medicare beneficiaries who depend on insulin will keep paying no more than $35 for a one-month supply of each covered insulin product in 2027, under...
Medicare covers a yearly wellness visit at no cost, but it isn’t a full physical
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries schedule what they believe is an annual physical, only to discover that the visit covered at no cost is something far...
Federal law shields two months of Social Security deposits from most creditors
Millions of Americans who depend on Social Security checks to cover rent, groceries, and medical bills have a federal shield that stops most private creditors...
Higher-income retirees pay a Medicare surcharge set by a tax return from two years back, and it can more than triple the premium
Retirees who earned above certain income thresholds in 2024 will pay a Medicare surcharge in 2026 that can push their monthly Part B bill to...
Original Medicare covers no routine dental, vision or hearing care
Millions of Americans enrolled in Original Medicare face the full cost of dental cleanings, eyeglasses, and hearing aids out of their own pockets. Federal law...
Most states, 41 of them, don’t tax your Social Security benefits at all
Retirees collecting Social Security in most of the country keep every dollar of their state tax bill untouched by those benefits. Forty-one states impose no...
$25,000 in combined income for singles, $32,000 for couples, is when Social Security benefits start getting federally taxed, limits frozen since 1984
Retirees collecting Social Security in 2024 can owe federal income tax on their benefits once their combined income hits $25,000 for single filers or $32,000...
Medicare Advantage members get a January-to-March window to change or drop their plan
Medicare Advantage enrollees across the country entered a three-month decision window on January 1 that lets them switch plans or leave Medicare Advantage entirely and...
A lower-earning spouse can claim up to half of the higher earner’s Social Security
Millions of married couples approaching retirement face a decision that can shift their combined Social Security income by tens of thousands of dollars over a...
Johns Hopkins Medicine is now out of network for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients after the two ended their contract
Patients in Maryland enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans lost in-network access to every Johns Hopkins Medicine provider and facility starting in August 2025. The...