Medicare

Nationally, more than a quarter of Medicare’s rated prescription drug plans that will be available to seniors in 2012 get poor ratings from federal officials. And in the Washington metro area, 36 percent rate unacceptably low, according to an analysis of Medicare data.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is putting these plans on notice that, unless they take steps to improve their performance over the next few years, they face expulsion from Medicare.

It’s deadline that most people of a certain age will likely not forget, the date in another era that would live in infamy.

In this case, it’s just a deadline.

Seniors have until Dec. 7 to sign up for a new Medicare prescription drug plan. But this year’s “open enrollment” dates have been changed from previous years, when Medicare beneficiaries had until the end of the year to decide whether to switch policies.

The enrollment period, which began Oct. 15, was changed to make sure all the paperwork was completed and seniors had their cards in hand by the time the “Part D” benefit begins on Jan. 1.

A pair of letters to the health insurer’s California customers sparks confusion. Anthem, it turns out, is replacing its California Medicare Advantage plan with 13 regional variations that allow it to set premiums and benefits according to local conditions.

Consumers receive their fair share of sucker punches from big corporations. But this one’s a real beauty.

And it affects all California seniors with Medicare Advantage plans offered by Anthem Blue Cross.

“So, you want to talk about cows in San Diego,” joked Dr. Ted Mazer, a local ear, nose and throat specialist.

The subject was Medicare, and what many physicians consider an unfair payment system created in 1996 that reimburses San Diego County doctors at the same rate as practitioners in rural counties. That’s despite the fact San Diego is the second-largest city in California and business costs generally are higher here than in nonurban areas.

More than 1.4 million California seniors have received at least one of the free preventive services offered by Medicare under federal health reform, according to federal health officials.

More than 17 million seniors nationwide have received at least one preventive service without a copayment since Jan. 1. Services range from diabetes screening to bone mass measurements, flu shots, mammograms and prostrate cancer screening.

Also effective Jan. 1, Medicare covers a free annual wellness exam. To date, 75,910 California seniors and 1.1 million seniors nationwide have gotten the exam, which includes a personalized prevention plan for improving health.

“The Affordable Care Act is delivering on its promise of better health care for people on Medicare,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a news release that also announced Medicare average prescription drug premiums will not increase in 2012.

Medicare soon will start docking payments to hospitals if they have a higher-than-expected level of patient readmissions within 30 days of being discharged. The move doesn’t bode well for 10 California hospitals already identified by Medicare as having high readmission rates for patients with pneumonia or heart failure.