Lucas Kaplan, Author at NCPSSM

Medicare Advantage Is Costing Traditional Medicare Patients Even More Money

t’s more than a little ironic that the for-profit Medicare Advantage program – which was supposed to save everyone money – is actually going to increase costs for people in traditional medicare. Congressional investigators blame this year’s spike in Medicare Part premiums on Medicare Advantage overbilling the government by billions of dollars. Fresh reporting from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) details how those overpayments translated into an estimated $13.4 billion in extra Part B premiums in 2025 alone. In other words, every person with Part B — including those who do not enroll in Medicare Advantage — is effectively subsidizing excess payments to private insurers. This revelation is only the latest in a series of Medicare Advantage scandals.

Lucas Kaplan2026-03-25T09:43:52-04:00March 24th, 2026|Categories: Medicare, Medicare Advantage|

‘Re-Arranging Deck Chairs at Social Security’: Bisignano’s Fake Fix for Staffing Crisis

There’s been an uncanny amount of re-shuffling of workers and resources at the Social Security Administration lately – in a feeble attempt to paper over Trump’s reckless cuts in staffing. The latest example of this game of whack-a-mole unfolded last week. Commissioner Frank Bisignano announced a shiny, new plan to "centralize" medical reviews for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits — which could impact nearly 9 million Americans. (Disabled workers can lose their benefits if they do not pass these periodic reviews.)

Lucas Kaplan2026-03-17T11:20:55-04:00March 17th, 2026|Categories: Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), Social Security Disability Insurance|

Social Security Commissioner Fails to Reassure Lawmakers About Data Breaches

In a befuddling appearance before the House Ways and Means Committee, Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano failed to reassure lawmakers of

Lucas Kaplan2026-03-10T12:25:30-04:00March 10th, 2026|Categories: Commisioner Bisignano, DOGE, Social Security Administration (SSA), Trump Administration|

VP Vance and Mehmet Oz Turn Medicaid into a Weapon in Minnesota

Wikimedia Commons In a move of partisan pettiness, the Trump administration has “temporarily halted” $260 million in Medicaid reimbursements

Lucas Kaplan2026-03-06T13:27:57-04:00March 3rd, 2026|Categories: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, healthcare, Medicaid|

Trump Offers Seniors Lies & Empty Promises in State of the Union Speech

Last night, Donald Trump delivered a bloated, hyper-partisan spectacle that did nothing to reassure the concerns of older Americans. In fact, the president attempted to mislead seniors about the administration’s policies that most seriously affect them. “The state of the union speech was theatrics over substance. And it was brazenly partisan,” said NCPSSM president and CEO, Max Richtman. “Trump’s brand of political performance art is no substitute for leadership that improves the lives of Americans of all ages, including our nation’s seniors.”

Lucas Kaplan2026-02-26T13:02:16-04:00February 25th, 2026|Categories: Congress, Medicaid, Medicare, Prescription Drug Prices, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), Trump, Trump Administration|

TrumpRx is Prescription Drug Snake Oil

Donald Trump’s latest gesture toward lowering prescription drug prices — and it is mostly an empty gesture — is the ‘branded’ website, TrumpRx, which the prez unveiled last week with great fanfare. It purports to save Americans money on drugs. But it is largely another Trump gimmick, joining Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Sneakers, and a myriad of other schemes. Trump Rx simply re-directs users to underwhelming (and already existing) manufacturer’s ‘discounts’ on brand‑name drugs – and is nowhere close to a serious plan to lower costs for the approximately 67 million seniors who rely on Medicare. In fact, Medicare beneficiaries cannot even use these manufacturer’s discounts, and few people with private health insurance policies will benefit, either.

Lucas Kaplan2026-02-12T14:53:01-04:00February 12th, 2026|Categories: Medicare, Prescription Drug Prices, President Trump|

Cato Really Wants to Cut Your Social Security Benefits

Cato Institute’s Romina Boccia is back at it, peddling the trope that Social Security doesn’t work and must be “re-designed.” In a recent post on Cato’s blog, she rolls out the “greatest hits” from a time-worn catalogue of conservative talking points. We asked our senior Social Security expert, Maria Freese, to fact-check some of Boccia’s key claims.

Lucas Kaplan2026-02-06T12:06:04-04:00February 5th, 2026|Categories: Congress, Payroll Tax Cap, Social Insurance, Social Security|

“Fox Guarding the Henhouse”: Social Security Whistleblower Fears Trump/DOGE Have Put Americans’ Data at Risk

An attorney for whistleblower Chuck Borges says that DOGE accessing Americans' sensitive Social Security information is akin to "the fox guarding the henhouse" -- as her client appeared on PBS NewsHour responding to the latest news about data breaches at the agency. The attorney goes on to say that the "government is lying to us" about DOGE's malfeasance. Borges, who was the Social Security Administration's chief data officer until being forced to resign, told NewsHour anchor Amna Nawaz that a court filing from the Trump administration confirms some of his worst fears about DOGE's gross mishandling of beneficiaries' personal data. The interview comes on the heels of reporting last week that DOGE employees shared sensitive Social Security data with a third party to ‘overturn election results.’

Lucas Kaplan2026-01-30T13:27:01-04:00January 29th, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|

Medicare Advantage Keeps Gaming The System, New Data Reveals

Over the years, we here at the National Committee have talked a lot about the disadvantages of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. These plans — which have become a gold mine for profit-focused insurers and their Wall Street backers — cover over half of Medicare beneficiaries, and are sold as a cheaper alternative to traditional Medicare. In reality, these private plansschemes are bleeding taxpayers for $76 billion more in 2026 than traditional Medicare would cost for comparable enrollees. A thorough analysis by MedPage — drawing from data provided by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) — highlights MA’s broken promises.

Lucas Kaplan2026-01-27T13:06:12-04:00January 26th, 2026|Categories: Medicare, Medicare Advantage|

GOP Senators Face Key Test on Health Care Affordability

Last week, the House of Representatives took a bold step towards averting huge increases in Americans’ health care premiums, passing a bill that would extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits for three years. The measure succeeded thanks to YES votes from all House Democrats and 17 House Republicans, who openly defied GOP Speaker Mike Johnson.

Lucas Kaplan2026-01-16T16:26:56-04:00January 13th, 2026|Categories: affordable care act, Congress, Older Americans, President Trump, Republicans|