Andre Insurance Services, Inc.

10/14/2026

Need Help Choosing a 2027 Medicare Plan.
Join me at one of the following locations.
No RSVP needed and Bring a Friend.
IN-PERSON MEDICARE MEETINGS

October 14th 10AM - 12PM October 15th 10AM - 12PM
Hampton Inn Hampton Inn
100 East Bay Dr 100 East Bay Dr
Largo, FL 33770 Largo, FL 33770
727-585-3333 727-585-3333

October 16th 10AM– 2PM & 2PM–4PM October 19th 10AM-12PM
ArchWell Health – Dunedin Holiday Inn Express – Clearwater
2210 Main St 2580 Gulf to Bay Blvd
Dunedin, FL 34698 Clearwater, FL 33765
727-615-3133 727-797-6300

October 22nd 10AM – 12 PM October 26th 10AM – 12PM
Hampton Inn – Tarpon Springs Courtyard by Marriot – Oldsmar
39284 US Hwy 19 N 4014 Tampa Rd
Tarpon Springs, FL 34689 Oldsmar, FL 34677
727-945-7755 813-925-8887

October 29th 10AM - 12PM & 2PM – 4PM
ArchWell Health - Largo
4520 East Bay Dr
Clearwater, FL 33764
727-615-3032

November 3rd 10AM – 12PM & 2PM – 4PM
ArchWell Health - Dunedin
2210 Main St
Dunedin, FL 34698
727-615-3133

November 17th 10AM – 12PM & 2PM – 4PM
ArchWell Health – Largo
4520 East Bay Dr
Clearwater, FL 33764
727-615-3032

10/14/2026

https://www.ssa.gov/blog/en/posts/2026-10-14.html
Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for 76 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2027. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $75 per month starting in January.

Nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries will see a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) beginning in January 2027. Increased payments to about 7.3 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 31, 2026.

Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for 76 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2027. On average, Social Security …

09/11/2026

Thoughts and Prayers to those Lost, those who Loved Them and Our Nation who is still Healing ❤️‍🩹

09/10/2026

UnitedHealth’s Optum sells interest in Florida clinics
By: Elizabeth Casolo
UnitedHealth Group’s Optum has sold interest in some of Optum’s Florida WellMed clinics to private equity company TPG, Bloomberg originally reported Sept. 9. UnitedHealth Chief Financial Officer Wayne DeVeydt told Bloomberg that the healthcare company was looking for a partner “that could actually work with us locally,” and UnitedHealth “didn’t need the dollars.”

“We entered a strategic partnership designed to strengthen operating performance through dedicated support for clinic operations, targeted investments in technology and tools, and enhanced operating capabilities,” an Optum spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 9. “The transitioning clinics will remain part of Optum’s network and continue providing high-quality care to patients. We remain committed to serving Florida patients through our integrated, value-based care model.”

The spokesperson said that, based on a previous strategic review of Optum’s health business, the company is considering and optimizing its care-delivery capabilities as the market evolves. In his Bloomberg interview, Mr. DeVeydt added that the TPG collaboration would enable faster growth while UnitedHealth also manages a larger turnaround.

In 2025, UnitedHealth had a full-year revenue of $447.6 billion, up 12% year over year. However, total net earnings were under $12.1 billion, a decline from $14.4 billion in 2024. Optum Health’s 2025 revenue was $102 billion, a 3% drop year over year. In January, UnitedHealth projected more than $439 billion in revenue for 2026, a slight year-over-year dip attributed to “planned right-sizing.”

TPG previously acquired Optum UK, which included the EMIS Group asset, a healthcare software company used by the United Kingdom’s NHS.

Optum purchased WellMed, which focuses on care for older adults, in 2011.

Becker’s reached out to TPG for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story cited Mr. DeVeydt saying UnitedHealth is opening roughly 15 clinics per year in Florida. Optum updated its count to 15 clinics opened since 2021, with potentially six coming next year.

09/06/2026

Health insurance giant Humana Inc. filed suit against Bayer AG‘s Monsanto Co. to recover damages paid to members injured by the company’s weed-killing product Roundup.

The complaint, filed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges that Humana was left responsible for the health costs of beneficiaries receiving settlement payments from Monsanto. The company seeks to recover damages equal to double the amounts Humana paid to treat Medicare Advantage patients injured by Roundup, including for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma-related cases.

https://www.facebook.com/100029671343961/posts/1973700293628996/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

Health insurance giant Humana Inc. filed suit against Bayer AG‘s Monsanto Co. to recover damages paid to members injured by the company’s weed-killing product Roundup.

09/01/2026

DOJ steps up crackdown on Medicare Advantage upcoding.
By: Alan Condon

The Justice Department’s scrutiny of Medicare Advantage risk adjustment is intensifying, with two recent settlements totaling nearly $1.1 billion highlighting federal concerns about diagnosis coding practices that can increase payments to health plans.

The latest came Aug. 27, when The Villages (Fla.) Health System agreed to pay $541.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting improper diagnosis codes to Medicare Advantage insurers. The settlement follows Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente’s January agreement to pay $556 million over allegations that it submitted unsupported diagnoses to increase risk-adjusted Medicare Advantage payments.

The cases share a central theme. Federal prosecutors alleged diagnoses were added to patient records after visits — in some cases months or more than a year later — despite concerns that the conditions were not supported by the encounter.

Medicare Advantage plans receive fixed monthly payments from CMS for each enrollee, with payments adjusted based on beneficiaries’ health status. Plans generally receive more for members with more serious documented conditions, making accurate diagnosis coding key to the program’s payment structure.

In the Kaiser case, the Justice Department alleged that several affiliates used data-mining tools to identify diagnoses in patients’ medical histories that had not previously been submitted to CMS. Physicians were then sent queries encouraging them to add diagnoses to medical records through addenda after visits had occurred, according to prosecutors. In some instances, the diagnoses allegedly had no connection to the original visit.

The government also alleged Kaiser established diagnosis-submission targets, identified physicians and facilities that fell short and tied certain financial incentives to risk-adjustment performance.

Kaiser said it settled to avoid the cost, uncertainty and delay of prolonged litigation, adding that the dispute involved interpretation of Medicare risk-adjustment documentation requirements rather than the quality of care its members received.

The Villages Health case involved similar retrospective coding allegations. Prosecutors said the provider used internal processes called “retrospective amendments” and “sprints” to add diagnosis codes to medical records after visits, sometimes months or more than a year later. Proposed additions were sent to physicians for approval and, in some cases when the treating physician had left the practice, were reviewed by another clinician.

The Justice Department alleged that from January 2020 through December 2024, The Villages Health submitted improper diagnosis codes to Medicare Advantage insurers including UnitedHealthcare, Humana and GuideWell, resulting in inflated payments from CMS.

The organization self-disclosed the conduct to the HHS Office of Inspector General in December 2024. A sample review cited in the settlement found that the percentage of unsupported diagnosis codes among those reviewed increased from 28.6% in 2020 to 50.7% in 2024.

The Villages Health sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2025 and was subsequently acquired by Humana’s CenterWell. A Humana and CenterWell spokesperson said the allegations predated the acquisition and that the settlement is being funded by The Villages Health estate rather than Humana or CenterWell.

The two cases are part of broader federal enforcement activity involving Medicare Advantage coding and payments. Becker’s has tracked several recent Medicare Advantage fraud settlements involving insurers, providers and coding vendors. Recent cases include settlements involving Monogram Health, Aetna, Seoul Medical Group and Renaissance Imaging Medical Associates, Independent Health and DxID, and Oak Street Health.

08/27/2026

Optimum 2027 Rollout

08/26/2026

AEP will be here before we know it.....
We'll have all the plan information by October 1st.
727-204-5566 or [email protected] for Updates on All the Plans form All the Companies !!

08/26/2026

Florida Blue Medicare 2027 Rollout

08/26/2026

7 ways Dolly Parton left her mark on healthcare
By: Giles Bruce

Dolly Parton, the country music icon known for hits like “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” died Aug. 25 in Nashville, Tenn., at the age of 80, after a brief battle with cancer.

Beyond her music and film career, Ms. Parton spent decades directing philanthropic dollars toward hospitals and medical research, much of it concentrated in her native East Tennessee and at Nashville-based Vanderbilt Health. Here are seven ways her giving left an imprint on healthcare.

1. A children’s hospital renamed in her honor. Knoxville, Tenn.-based East Tennessee Children’s Hospital was renamed Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital following a rebrand announced Feb. 26, a move its CEO said reflected a long-standing alignment between the entertainer’s legacy and the organization’s mission.

“She brings many of those same qualities, true care and genuine love for this community, for the people and for this region, and wanting children to have a happier and healthier future where they can imagine what life can look like,” Matt Schaefer, president and CEO of Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital, told Becker’s in February.

“That’s part of what her legacy has been and how this union has come about,” he said.

2. A birthday gift that funded pediatric cancer research. To mark her 80th birthday in January, Ms. Parton released a new rendition of her 1976 song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” featuring Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire, with proceeds benefiting pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

“I wrote ‘Light of A Clear Blue Morning’ during a season when I was searching for hope, and 50 years later that message still feels just as true,” Ms. Parton said in a Vanderbilt Health News release marking the anniversary.

3. A pharmacy robot that carries her name. Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health named three medication-dispensing robots at its Bristol (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center after Ms. Parton, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in a nod to Bristol’s country music history.

“With fewer touchpoints, these state-of-the-art robots will empower our team members to redirect their focus towards more clinical initiatives, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of patient care,” Trish Tanner, then vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Ballad, stated at the time.

4. A contribution to pediatric infectious disease research. Ms. Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2022, this time for pediatric infectious disease research, including work on antibiotic resistance and infections in children being treated for cancer.

“I love all children. No child should ever have to suffer, and I’m willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible,” Ms. Parton said in a June 15, 2022, Vanderbilt news release.

5. Funding that helped advance a COVID-19 vaccine. Ms. Parton gave $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in April 2020 to support the fight against COVID-19, in honor of her longtime friend Naji Abumrad, MD, a professor of surgery there. The gift helped fund research that contributed to the development of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Vanderbilt Health News release.

“What better time than right now, we need this. I felt like this was the time for me to open my heart and my hand, and try to help,” Ms. Parton said on NBC’s “Today” show at the time, according to the release.

“Dolly’s amazing generosity is a source of inspiration and will have a lasting impact on the battle against COVID-19,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, in the release. “She cares so much about helping others and we are very grateful for her ongoing support. These funds will help us complete promising research that can benefit millions in their battle with the virus.”

Ms. Parton later received her own vaccine dose at Vanderbilt.

6. A donation tied to her niece’s cancer recovery. In 2017, Ms. Parton contributed $1 million to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. She made the gift in part because her niece, Hannah Dennison, had been successfully treated for leukemia at the hospital as a child.

7. A hometown hospital shaped by her giving. Ms. Parton also had deep ties to the hospital in Sevierville, Tenn., where she grew up. She helped raise $1 million for the LeConte Medical Center project through a 2007 benefit concert and matching pledges from Dollywood and her Dixie Stampede dinner theater.

The hospital, now part of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Covenant Health, opened in 2010 with the 30,000-square-foot Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services and later added the Dolly Parton Birthing Unit, a health system spokesperson told Becker’s.

Ms. Parton was also honorary chair of the Dr. Robert F. Thomas Foundation, supporting the hospital and Sevierville community.