Tuesday, 20 October, 2026
A familiar insurance card does not guarantee familiar costs next year. Your premium may change, a prescription may become more expensive, or your pharmacy may no longer offer the lowest copayment. Medicare Open Enrollment begins October 15 and ends December 7, 2026. Changes made during this period take effect January […]
Medicare is not one policy, one bill, or one decision. It is a collection of benefits, deadlines, costs, and private-plan choices that can affect a retiree for years. This eight-part Huutri.org series is designed to help older adults, spouses, adult children, and caregivers understand the questions they should ask before […]
Pay Before Care? Why More Hospitals and Doctors Are Asking Patients for Money Upfront For generations, Americans were accustomed to receiving medical care first and a bill weeks later. That is changing. Hospitals, surgery centers, imaging facilities, laboratories, and doctors’ offices are increasingly asking patients to pay a copayment, deductible, […]
Original Medicare pays a large portion of approved medical expenses—but not everything. Beneficiaries may still be responsible for hospital deductibles, copayments and generally 20% of Medicare-approved outpatient costs. Original Medicare also has no annual out-of-pocket limit. Medicare Supplement Insurance, commonly called “Medigap,” helps pay some of these remaining expenses. What […]
Initial Enrollment Period, 2026 costs, plan choices, and the rules that are easy to confuse The short answer: Your Initial Enrollment Period usually lasts seven months: the three months before the month you turn 65, your birthday month, and the three months after. Enroll before your birthday month when possible […]
Who Pays—And What You Must Understand Throughout this series, we explored three deeply connected questions that many families eventually face—but few are fully prepared to answer: What kind of medical care would you want if you could no longer speak for yourself? Who would make decisions on your behalf? And […]
In the summer of 1965, the United States made one of the most consequential social policy decisions in its history. With the signing of the Social Security Amendments, President Lyndon B. Johnson created two landmark programs: Medicare and Medicaid. They were designed to solve two different crises: Medicare — Health […]
A quiet policy proposal in Washington has created very loud reactions on Wall Street — and it could eventually affect the Medicare Advantage (MA) plans many seniors rely on today. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2027 Medicare Advantage Advance Notice, and while the language is […]
A January 2026 report by a U.S. Senate committee has renewed scrutiny of UnitedHealth Group and its practices within Medicare Advantage, raising questions about how the nation’s largest health insurer documents patient diagnoses and receives federal payments. At the center of the debate is whether UnitedHealth’s diagnostic and coding strategies […]
Open enrollment (Oct 15–Dec 7) is when most retirees can change coverage for the year ahead: move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, add or swap a Part D drug plan, or—if eligible—buy a Medigap supplement. There’s also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment (Jan 1–Mar 31) for people already in […]