CMA - Center for Medicare Advocacy

Free Webinar | 40 Years of Medicare Advocacy: Lessons Learned and the Way Forward - Center for Medicare Advocacy We welcome you to join us! March 25, 2026 | 2:00PM – 3:00PM ET The Center for Medicare Advocacy will celebrate its 40th anniversary on April 1, 2026.  Join us the week before on March 25th at 2pm ET t...

For 40 years, the Center for Medicare Advocacy has fought to protect Medicare access.

Join our FREE webinar reflecting on lessons learned, and the work ahead to create a brighter future for all Medicare beneficiaries.

📅March 25 | ⏰2–3 PM ET

Register:
medicareadvocacy.org/free-webinar...

AI is everywhere. It's now entering Medicare via the WISeR model, rolled-out in 6 States, and all 50 by 2031. It's used to approve/deny Medicare prior-auths and services.
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What are your thoughts on its implementation? Do you think it'll have positive or negative effects on the Medicare experience?

What are your thoughts on the WISeR model and AI being used to approve/deny Medicare prior-auths and services? Do you think it'll have positive or negative effects on the Medicare experience?

#AI #medicare

Analyzing Changes in Medicare Part D Enrollment for 2026 | KFF The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit is provided by private plans, either Medicare Advantage plans that offer drug coverage (MA-PDs) or, for those in traditional Medicare, stand-alone prescri...

56.1 million people are now enrolled in Medicare Part D, but where they get their drug coverage is shifting.

Stand-alone drug plans grew by 1.7M in 2026, largely driven by employer retiree plans.

What’s behind the change?

New @kffhealthnews.org analysis explains:

www.kff.org/medicare/ana...

5 Limited Mobility Exercises You Can Perform at Home Have you come to the realization that you can’t move around the way you once could? Perhaps it’s become harder to reach for things, stand up from sitting or even walk around a room.

💪 Struggling with limited mobility? Small, consistent movements can improve circulation, reduce stiffness, build strength, and even boost mood.

You don’t need a gym — just a chair and a few minutes for these 5 simple exercises.

www.tmh.org/blogs/5-limi...

Our newsletter: medicareadvocacy.org/join

How Much Does Medicare Pay for a Hospital Stay? https://bit.ly/4qD0b3F

🩺Medicare MythBusting Monday

❌Myth: Paying more for Medicare Advantage (MA) means easier access to care.

🧠MA plans must cover the same services, but often require prior authorization. Traditional Medicare rarely requires prior auths.

Always ask how care is managed, not just the price💙

Free Webinar | 40 Years of Medicare Advocacy: Lessons Learned and the Way Forward - Center for Medicare Advocacy We welcome you to join us! March 25, 2026 | 2:00PM – 3:00PM ET The Center for Medicare Advocacy will celebrate its 40th anniversary on April 1, 2026.  Join us the week before on March 25th at 2pm ET t...

Join our FREE live webinar celebrating 40 years of fighting for Medicare beneficiaries.

Lessons Learned and the Way Forward
📅 March 25, 2026
⏰ 2–3 PM ET

Featuring CMA's Judith Stein, David Lipschutz, Scott Perkins, Mary Ashkar & Josh Norris.

Register:
medicareadvocacy.org/free-webinar...

A federal nursing home staffing rule experts say could save 13k lives/yr has been repealed

“It injects some of the worst of Medicare Advantage into traditional Medicare,” said David Lipschutz, CMA's co-director

👉 www.pressreader.com/usa/hamilton...

Our newsletter: medicareadvocacy.org/join/

Overpayments to Medicare Advantage in 2026: $76 Billion - Center for Medicare Advocacy MA wastes so much of OUR taxpayer dollars.

Medicare Advantage plans are projected to be overpaid by $76 BILLION in 2026, largely due to upcoding practices that inflate diagnoses.

That’s taxpayer money that should strengthen Medicare, not boost insurer profits.

Read more:
medicareadvocacy.org/overpayments...

United Healthcare Reins in Access to Specialty Care in Medicare Advantage May 1 policy could burden doctors, frustrate patients, and delay care, advocates fear

Caregivers are already stretched thin. Now, a federal nursing home staffing rule designed to improve care & save up to 13k lives annually has been repealed

Our own David Lipschutz weighed in on this big step backwards

Our newsletter: medicareadvocacy.org/join/

www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...

Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew

🌿Wellness Wednesday🌿

Vaccines may be doing more than we realized. They're not just about preventing illness - they may help protect long-term brain & heart health.

New research suggests:

🧠Lower dementia risk
❤️Fewer heart attacks & strokes
🫁Reduced hospitalizations

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/h...

Are Medicare Advantage rates as bad as they look? New MA payment rates have spooked investors, but the math suggests insurers may be crying wolf.

CMS proposed a 0.9% Medicare Advantage rate bump for 2027, and insurers are warning of benefit cuts

But CMA’s Kata Kertesz says cutting benefits would be a choice, not a necessity. What’s really behind the numbers?👇

www.healthcare-brew.com/stories/2026...

Our newsletter medicareadvocacy.org/join/

3-Day Inpatient Hospital Requirement Increases Total Medicare Costs - Center for Medicare Advocacy Study finds that the 3-day inpatient requirement increases Medicare costs and does not improve patients’ health outcomes.

Medicare’s 3-day hospital rule is supposed to control costs. It actually increases them.

Longer hospital stays. Higher spending. More risk for patients.

Why are we still doing this?

To read more & sign-up for our free, weekly newsletter:⬇️

medicareadvocacy.org/3-day-inpati...

Medicare is experimenting with having AI review claims – a cost-saving measure that could risk denying needed care (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

AI in Medicare: Innovation — or a new barrier?

Medicare’s pilot uses AI to review claims in traditional Medicare to reduce wasteful spending. But could it also delay or deny care? What do you think?👇

www.ctinsider.com/news/article...

For our free newsletter: medicareadvocacy.org/join/

Know Jimmo | Home Health Care is Available for Medicare Beneficiaries with Long Term, Chronic, and Terminal Conditions - Center for Medicare Advocacy The key to coverage is whether the individual requires skilled nursing or therapy and whether care would be safe and effective if skilled care was not provided. (And the individual meets other qualify...

Home health care doesn’t end just because a condition is chronic or stable.

In 2013, CMA won Jimmo v. Sebelius, making it clear:
Coverage depends on the need for skilled care — not on improvement.

Know Jimmo. Know your rights 👇
🔗 medicareadvocacy.org/know-jimmo-h...

Connecticut lawmakers, caregivers decry Trump-era repeal of nursing home staffing rules Around 90% of nursing home beds are currently occupied in Connecticut. Advocates say by 2035 there could be a 3,000-bed shortage.

Short staffing. Burnout. Residents left waiting.

What caregivers describe in Connecticut is a microcosm of a national nursing home crisis — and the human cost is real. Full story 👇

www.newstimes.com/connecticut/...

Our weekly alert: medicareadvocacy.org/join/

Why are so many nursing homes so dangerously understaffed? - Storm Lake Times Pilot The mostly for-profit nursing home industry, funded by untold billions of taxpayer dollars, has nearly once again succeeded in undermining the health, safety, welfare and rights of our Nation’s …

Nursing homes aren’t just short-staffed — they’re dangerously short, and it isn’t accidental. It’s systemic.

The result? Neglect, abuse, and real danger for residents. Full Stormlake article and our newsletter👇

www.stormlake.com/stories/why-...

Our free, weekly alert: medicareadvocacy.org/join/

More than 100,000 older Americans (aged 60+ — their definition, not ours!) report being victims of financial fraud annually, with losses >$3.4 billion.

@ncoaging.bsky.social has a wonderful page dedicated to helping seniors prevent falling victim to scams linked below⬇️

www.ncoa.org/older-adults...

Medicare Telehealth Coverage Extended Through 2027 - Center for Medicare Advocacy Telehealth coverage extension will support not only continuity of care for beneficiaries, but also payments to providers

Woah! Some good news for a change! 😊 Medicare telehealth isn’t going away; it’s been EXTENDED through 2027!

That’s huge news for access to care, especially for people who rely on virtual visits

What’s covered and what comes next: ⬇️
medicareadvocacy.org/medicare-tel...

📬 medicareadvocacy.org/join/

Medicare launches pilot program using AI to approve or deny treatment claims The six states participating are Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington

Doctors make medical decisions — so why are AI systems increasingly calling the shots on Medicare claims?

@the-independent.com breaks down what's happening with insurers using AI and the implications. Read more⬇️

📬Our newsletter: medicareadvocacy.org/join/

www.the-independent.com/life-style/h...

Whitehouse Reintroduces Bill to Reform Prior Authorization and Deliver Care to Patients Faster - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Legislation would help keep insurance companies from dictating care decisions to providers and patients Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today reintroduced the Prior Authorizati...

🚨 Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (great name) just reintroduced legislation to reform prior authorization and get patients the care they need, faster.

Our own David Lipschutz weighed in, highlighting how prior auth delays harm patients. Full article below 👇

www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release...

Sign up for CMA’s weekly newsletter! - Center for Medicare Advocacy We welcome you to sign up for our newsletter, the CMA Alert!

Bigger tax refunds in 2026 sound great...but what’s the catch? 🤔

Find out in @moneydigest.bsky.social's beautifully written article, which references our own David Lipschutz and Ali Bers below 👇

📢For breaking, weekly Medicare updates: medicareadvocacy.org/join/

www.moneydigest.com/2089202/bigg...

CMA Comments to Proposed CY 2027 Rule re: Medicare Advantage and Part D - Center for Medicare Advocacy In collaboration with several advocacy partners, CMA submitted comments to a proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) titled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract...

🚨 Medicare Advantage & Part D are changing — and beneficiaries could feel it.

We just submitted comments on CMS’s proposed 2027 Contract Year rules, flagging serious concerns about access, equity, and accountability.

For free, weekly Medicare updates👇
medicareadvocacy.org/comments-on-...

Medicare Proposal Seeks to Limit Insurer Tactic, Extra Payments The Trump administration’s proposed update to its Medicare payment policies could affect larger Medicare Advantage companies more than smaller firms, health policy watchers say.

🚨 New Medicare proposal targets insurer payment gaming, and the Center for Medicare Advocacy is weighing in.

CMA’s Kata Kertesz warns insurers are using chart reviews to drive up payments, without improving care. This rule could change everything.

news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-a...

Free Webinar | 2025 Medicare Open Enrollment Deep Dive - Center for Medicare Advocacy We Welcome You to Join Us! Description This webinar will look back at the 2025-2026 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) during which people made choices about their Medicare Advantage and Part D c...

⏰ Happening TODAY!

Join our free webinar today (1/28) from 2:00–3:30 PM ET for a deep dive into lessons from the 2025–2026 Medicare Open Enrollment, and what's ahead for 2026.

🔗 Register:
medicareadvocacy.org/free-webinar...

Free Webinar | 2025 Medicare Open Enrollment Deep Dive - Center for Medicare Advocacy We Welcome You to Join Us! Description This webinar will look back at the 2025-2026 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) during which people made choices about their Medicare Advantage and Part D c...

⏰We're now 1 day away from our free webinar on 1/28/26 2pm-330pm ET!

Join CMA's and SHIP's Medicare experts to explore what went right during the 2025-2026 open enrollment season and what...could have gone better. Plus live Q&As!

Reserve your spot now! 👇

medicareadvocacy.org/free-webinar...

Opinion | 'They're Compromising Its Use for Its Proven Uses': What We Heard This Week Quotable quotes heard by MedPage Today's reporters

"They are a profit-driven industry operating with a strong focus on their bottom line."

-CMA's Managing Policy Attorney, Kata Kertesz, quoted by @medpagetoday.com re: UnitedHealth Group's aggressive upcoding techniques.

Read below for more eye-opening quotes👇
www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/what...

Oklahomans Concerned about Losing Care Under Model Medicare Prior Authorization Program - Center for Medicare Advocacy In a recent piece on radio station KGOU in Oklahoma, Jillian Taylor addressed the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction Model, or WISeR, a program being tested in six states, including Oklahoma...

🚨Medicare prior authorization is expanding under CMS’s WISeR Model, putting access to care at risk. Oklahomans are already feeling the effects.

Is your state one of the 6 testing Medicare's WISeR prior-auth model?

Find out & stay in the loop with weekly alerts👇
medicareadvocacy.org/oklahomans-c...

3 Policy Moves Likely to Change Health Care for Older People Month after month, Patricia Hunter and other members of the Nursing Home Reform Coalition logged onto video calls with congressional representatives, seeking their support for a proposed federal rule ...

Three policy changes are poised to reshape care for older adults — and not for the better.

From repealed nursing home staffing rules to A.I. gatekeeping in Medicare, the Center for Medicare Advocacy weighs-in on what to know⤵️

@nytimes.com

www.myheraldreview.com/free_access/...