Medicare:
Comparison of Catastrophic Health Insurance Proposals
HRD-87-92BR: Published: Jun 19, 1987. Publicly Released: Jul 6, 1987.
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In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed 14 legislative proposals that would provide coverage of catastrophic health care costs to determine the potential effects on Medicare beneficiaries.
GAO found that: (1) the bills would either place a limit on beneficiary liability for Medicare deductibles and coinsurance or attempt to provide for some of the costs not currently covered under Medicare; (2) the bills would apply catastrophic dollar limits only to physician services and hospital care; (3) most of the bills would leave the elderly at risk of high out-of-pocket costs, since they would provide limited protection for nursing home and home health care; (4) supplemental Medigap insurance policies cover only deductible and coinsurance for Medicare-covered services at the Medicare-approved rate; (5) most of the proposals would not relieve Medicare beneficiaries of their out-of-pocket physician charges; (6) of the 14 proposals, 9 would establish a catastrophic dollar limit above which the beneficiary would no longer be liable for Medicare deductibles; (7) although increasing health insurance coverage for the elderly would provide relief from high out-of-pocket expenses, it would also increase Medicare payments; and (8) the bills that would provide extensive protection propose a variety of methods to spread the costs over either all Medicare beneficiaries or all taxpayers.
Mar 3, 2021
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Drug Safety:
FDA's Future Inspection Plans Need to Address Issues Presented by COVID-19 BacklogGAO-21-409T: Published: Mar 4, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 3, 2021.
Mar 1, 2021
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Medicare Part B:
Payments and Use for Selected New, High-Cost DrugsGAO-21-252: Published: Mar 1, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 1, 2021.
Feb 24, 2021
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Covid-19:
Key Insights from GAO's Oversight of the Federal Public Health ResponseGAO-21-396T: Published: Feb 24, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 24, 2021.
Feb 17, 2021
Feb 11, 2021
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Operation Warp Speed:
Accelerated COVID-19 Vaccine Development Status and Efforts to Address Manufacturing ChallengesGAO-21-319: Published: Feb 11, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 11, 2021.
Feb 5, 2021
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DOD Health Care:
DOD Should Monitor Implementation of Its Clinical Practice GuidelinesGAO-21-237: Published: Feb 5, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021. -
Medicaid:
CMS Needs to Implement Risk-Based Oversight of Puerto Rico's Procurement ProcessGAO-21-229: Published: Feb 5, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021. -
VA Health Care:
Community Living Centers Were Commonly Cited for Infection Control Deficiencies Prior to the COVID-19 PandemicGAO-21-195R: Published: Jan 6, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021.
Jan 28, 2021
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COVID-19:
Critical Vaccine Distribution, Supply Chain, Program Integrity, and Other Challenges Require Focused Federal AttentionGAO-21-265: Published: Jan 28, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 28, 2021.
Jan 21, 2021
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Rural Hospital Closures:
Affected Residents Had Reduced Access to Health Care ServicesGAO-21-93: Published: Dec 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 21, 2021.
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