Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

What’s the difference between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage?  

There’s been a push for original Medicare recipients to switch to Medicare Advantage, but the plans have seen controversy.
Medicare Advantage plans have seen a number of scandals, Marketplace's senior economics contributor explains why.
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

Medicare rejected a controversial Alzheimer's drug. Participants still ended up paying for it.

Oct 24, 2022
Medicare raised premiums late last year in preparation to cover the drug Aduhelm. Ultimately, Medicare rejected coverage of the drug, with limited exceptions.
Biogen initially priced its Alzheimer’s treatment drug at $56,000 a year. That figure was factored in when Medicare set Part B premiums late last year.
Dominick Reuter/AFP via Getty Images

Over-the-counter hearing aids bring savings and convenience

Oct 17, 2022
Over 40 million Americans with some form of hearing loss could benefit from the ease of buying a hearing aid at their local pharmacy.
Hearing aids are now available over the counter in the United States.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Medicare may soon be able to negotiate prescription drug prices

Aug 8, 2022
The health policy reform is part of the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act, which could aid 48 million Medicare recipients.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Inflation Reduction Act will save Medicare $288 billion over the next decade.
Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

Democrats reach deal aimed at cutting drug prices for seniors

Nov 3, 2021
The limited plan would, for the first time, give Medicare the power to negotiate prices directly with pharmaceutical companies.
Medicare Advantage plans are becoming more and more popular, but what exactly do they entail?  We got the details from Dr. Fred Hyde, an independent consultant in health care finance and adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
FatCamera via Getty Images

Who will end up paying the price for Biogen's new Alzheimer's drug?

Jun 18, 2021
The cost of the newly approved treatment will be about $56,000 a year, much of it paid for by Medicare.
Biogen’s new Alzheimer's treatment drug, Aduhelm, has an annual sticker price of $56,000.
Dominick Reuter/AFP via Getty Images

What lowering the Medicare eligibility age would mean for health care

Jun 15, 2021
Among the many issues fighting for space on the political agenda is a Biden campaign promise to lower expand access Medicare.
Medicare Advantage plans have seen a number of scandals, Marketplace's senior economics contributor explains why.
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

COVID unemployment is causing a serious funding issue for Medicare

Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund is projected to become insolvent sooner than expected — within three to five years.
The pandemic recession has pushed so many people out of work that funding for Medicare Part A, via payroll taxes, is down.
FG Trade via Getty Images

Biden faces economic obstacles beyond the pandemic's burdens

The list includes dwindling trust funds for Social Security and Medicare and potential bubbles in the housing and stock markets.
Biden will confront "headwinds unlike those that have ever been faced by any modern president," says Eugene Steuerle of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
Mark Makela/Getty Images

Trump's prescription for lower drug prices hits a roadblock

Dec 24, 2020
A federal judge has issued an injunction to the Medicare rule change, saying the administration rushed it through.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images