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Medicare - Private Fee-for-Service Plans - Coverage and Cost

Some Medicare enrollees choose to receive their services through private fee-for-service plans offered by private insurance companies. Although these plans differ from the Original Medicare Plan, enrollees are still part of the Medicare system. This article discusses how private fee-for-service plans work, what costs are involved for enrollees, and what services are covered.More...

Medicare - Limiting Charges and Assignment

Medicare limits the amount it will pay for some services, supplies, and medical equipment. This is called the Medicare limiting charge. Whether a limiting charge is available to help limit the cost of services or supplies, however, depends upon who is rendering the service, whether the provider has agreed to accept assignment, what type of item or service is at issue, and whether the physician and the patient executed a private contract. Assignment means that a provider has agreed that it will accept the Medicare-defined reasonable and customary fee for its services. A full discussion of assignment appears in a separate article.More...

Housing - Residential Facilities and Voting Rights

Although the right to vote is fundamental in the United States, state law governs the manner in which this right is exercised. Although almost one-half of the states have passed laws addressing the voting rights of those living in residential facilities, these laws differ significantly. More...

Medicare Coverate - Hospitalization and Blood

Medicare coverage for care in hospitals depends upon whether the items are reasonable and necessary to a hospital stay and to the treatment of a patient's illness. Coverage varies slightly from state to state, but the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services is the ultimate authority on coverage issues. More...

Insurance - Long Term Care - Remedies for Aggrieved Policyholders

Sometimes, the holder of a long-term care insurance contract feels that he or she did not get the benefit of his or her bargain with the insurance company. This may result, for example, from provisions that were clearly delineated in the policy, from items that were in the policy but were not well defined, or from the insurance company overstepping its bounds as an insurer. More...