The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently reminded Medicare Part D plan providers of their duty to provide convenient access to network pharmacies for long-term care residents.

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, several news sources confirmed Wednesday.

The Democratic Party has included long-term care reform as a plank in its policy platform.

The average monthly premium for standard beneficiaries in the Medicare Part D drug program is expected to rise by $3 next year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid disclosed Thursday.

Former presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) last week introduced legislation that would get rid of the Medicare Part D drug program.

While the number of Medicare Part D program complaints has fallen since the program began, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services still has problems resolving critical program complaints.

Prescription drugs for Medicare and Medicaid-eligible beneficiaries cost 30% more under Medicare Part D than they would if Medicaid paid the bill, according to a new report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The Food and Drug Administration disapproved 96% of applications for generic drug approval in 2006, according to a report recently released from the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.