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You can make changes to your Medicare coverage each year during Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period, which runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. Beginning in September, you may receive notices with information about possible changes to your coverage for the coming year. Please read these notices, as these can help you decide if you should make changes to your coverage during Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period. Medicare and You If you are currently enrolled in Medicare, watch for the 2021 Medicare & You handbook...
Dear Savvy Senior: How does Medicare cover in-home health care? My husband has a chronic health condition that makes it very difficult for him to leave the house, so I’m wondering if he could qualify for Medicare home health care. — Seeking Help Dear Seeking: Medicare covers a wide variety of part-time or intermittent in-home health care services to beneficiaries in need, if they meet Medicare’s criteria. Here’s how it works. In order for your husband to secure coverage for home health care, Medicare first requires that he be homebou...
If someone you love is suffering from Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, wouldn’t you do everything possible to help them? What about if the medicine you give them has questionable usefulness or potentially dangerous side effects and costs a fortune? That’s a question millions of people may face soon. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Aduhelm, also called aducanumab, in June, in one of its most contentious decisions. This came eight months after a harsh rejection of the treatment by an FDA advisory commi...
Seniors are known nationally for being “super voters”. But many voters find it challenging to understand and evaluate the issues and candidates. Hence this series has been created to dive into civic issues to help our Alaskan seniors, friends and families become more familiar with some issues that should be considered when casting a vote. In this series, we will start by focusing on campaign finance. In the next few columns, we will identify some of the problems that currently exist in our political system, provide history about how these probl...
In the past, you may have had trouble navigating the maze of Medicare. Here are some helpful strategies to avoid, identify and solve Medicare issues that you may encounter. Know your coverage Medicare coverage rules can be complicated. My advice is to not become overwhelmed. Before receiving a service, you do not need to be a Medicare specialist. My recommendation is to check to make sure Medicare covers the service and if there are any steps you must take prior to receiving it. If Original Medicare, your employer-provided retiree benefits...
Dear Savvy Senior: I just found out I have stage 1 hypertension and my doctor recommended I get a home blood pressure monitor to keep an eye on it. Can you offer me any tips on choosing a good one? - Hypertensive Helen Dear Helen: It’s a smart idea. Everyone with elevated or high blood pressure (stage 1 and higher) should consider getting a home blood pressure monitor. Home monitoring can help you keep tabs on your blood pressure in a comfortable setting. Plus, if you’re taking medication it will make certain it’s working, and alert you to a...
Five ways to apply for Social Security benefits online Social Security continues to make it easier for you to access our programs and benefits. Our website offers a convenient way to apply for benefits online. You can apply online for: Retirement or Spouse’s Benefits. You must be at least 61 years and 9 months in age and want your benefits to start in no more than four months. Apply at www.ssa.gov/retireonline. Disability Benefits. You can use our online application, available at www.ssa.gov/disabilityonline, to apply for disability benefits i...
ANALYSIS As the nation emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, telemedicine has transformed how millions of Americans, particularly seniors, see their doctors. Now the Biden administration and Congress must decide whether video and audio appointments with doctors should continue as a routine part of health care and should get federal reimbursement. Telemedicine, also called telehealth, has been the most significant health care shift caused by the pandemic. Before coronavirus, lawmakers had tightly restricted the kind of video and audio visits...
A strong and growing labor movement is good for workers and for all Americans. The labor movement has been and continues to be the leading force in the fight to strengthen Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, ensuring a measure of retirement security for all Americans. Our country, our democracy, and our people benefit when workers have a strong voice at work and are able to join together to build a more secure future for their families and their communities. Union jobs often come with negotiated defined benefit pensions which ensure...
Every Medicare beneficiary has the right to appeal a denial of coverage for services or items made by Medicare. However, there are some things you should know. First, you need to understand why Medicare denied coverage in the first place. Then you need to build your case for the appeal and begin the process. You need to understand that there are multiple levels of appeals you can go through if your first decision is denied and each of these has their own timeline associated. Why was your item or service denied coverage by Medicare? Make sure...
Hospice is not a place. And hospice care is not just about those who are dying. Hospice is a comprehensive, compassionate kind of care that focuses on living – hospice is about living as fully as possible, surrounded by family and friends, up until the end of life. Palliative care brings this special philosophy of care to people earlier in the course of a serious illness. Did you know that Hospice of Anchorage is a Volunteer Hospice? Did you know there are three Medicare hospice providers serving Anchorage and the surrounding areas as well? W...
President Joe Biden has laid out a long list of policy priorities - some more politically plausible than others. But what he left out of his sweeping infrastructure and family relief proposals – drug pricing reform, among other things – is as important as what he included. Biden, who served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years and as vice president for eight more, understood the politics of coronavirus and was able to successfully shepherd his pandemic relief bill through Congress, with only Democrat...
Many individuals with Medicare find themselves struggling to pay the various costs associated with monthly premiums or prescription drugs. Fortunately, there are a number of different programs available to help. Medicare Savings Program The Medicare Savings Program (MSP), or Medicare Buy-in, is a program to help with paying Medicare premiums. There are three different programs you may be qualified for based on your income and assets. These programs are administered through the State of Alaska Division of Public Assistance. If you think you may...
It’s that time of year again; the sun is warm, breakup is messy, and the snowbirds are migrating back to Alaska. It’s the time of year where the year-round residents and snowbirds alike are asking themselves, “Is this the year I finally move?” What does moving mean for your Medicare benefits? What is the process? Will your coverage change? Moving out of Alaska Medicare Parts A & B: The most important thing to do when moving is to update your address with the Social Security Administration. This will ensure you don’t miss important updates a...
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) coronavirus stimulus package, which President Joe Biden signed into law in March, was designed to defeat the virus, get vaccines in the arms of Americans, checks in the pockets of those who need it, and jump-start the U.S. economy back to health, including safely re-opening schools. This bill is so large in scale – $1.9 trillion – that Republicans in both chambers opposed the legislation unanimously, characterizing it as bloated, crammed with what House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called a “liberal wish list....
The Alaska State Legislature is still working on the next steps for the Department of Administration’s (DOA) proposed closing of six rural DMV locations around the state of Alaska, including Delta Junction, Eagle River, Haines, Valdez, Tok and Homer for the FY2022 budget. On Mar. 18, Rep. Sara Vance, R-Homer, proposed HB 140 with the support of several constituents, including Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, a representative from one of the impacted DMV locations. HB 140 repeals the requirement for Alaskans – specifically for seniors age 69 and old...
What is home health care? What services are included in home health care? Who is eligible for these services? These are some common questions that people have about their Medicare benefits. Home health care includes a wide range of health and social services delivered in your home to treat illness or injury. Medicare covers skilled nursing services, such as injections and catheter changes. It covers home health aides, such as to help with bathing and dressing, and medical social services, such as counseling. It also covers skilled therapy servi...
The Alaska Alliance for Retired Americans (AKARA) was organized by a group of retired Alaskan workers in the fall of 2017. The group is affiliated with the Alliance for Retired Americans, a nationwide grassroots organization, launched in 2001. ARA now has more than 4.4 million members working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics and institutions that shape American life. For 20 years, ARA has mobilized retired union members, seniors and community activists into a movement advocating a political and social agenda...
Did you know that Medicare can help cover costs associated with behavioral health care? Behavioral health care includes mental illness and addiction-related issues. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “a mental illness is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling or mood.” Substance use disorders and addiction do not fall under this definition of mental health illness, but they are considered behavioral health conditions. Examples of mental health illnesses include depression and anxiety. Examples of addic...
Some significant changes affecting seniors on health care issues may have gotten lost in the tumultuous whirlwind changes between the end of the Trump administration and the start of the Biden administration. Amid the increasing intensity of the pandemic, the violent turbulence at the U.S. Capitol, and the slower than expected rollout of the first vaccines, Congress actually got some important things done affecting seniors that went unnoticed, buried in the massive spending package. Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package and...
On Dec. 23, 2020, Congress passed a new provision called the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2020, or “BENES Act” of 2020 as part of the $900 billion pandemic aid package. This bill had wide bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bill also had strong support from more than 85 national and state organizations that support older adults and people with disabilities. The BENES Act is the first update to Original Medicare (Me...
Dear Savvy Senior: I will turn 65 in a few months and plan to keep working for several more years. I have good health insurance from my employer now. Do I have to sign up for Medicare when I reach 65? — Looking Ahead Dear Looking: Whether you need to enroll in Medicare at 65 if you continue to work and have health insurance through your job depends on how large your employer is. The same rules apply if your health insurance comes from your spouse’s job. But first, let’s review the basics. Remember that original Medicare has two parts: Part...
Do you plan to pay a cleaning person, cook, gardener, babysitter or other household worker at least $2,300 in 2021? This amount includes any cash you pay for your household employee’s transportation, meals and housing. If you will pay at least $2,300 to one person, you have some additional financial responsibilities and you must: Deduct Social Security and Medicare taxes from those wages; pay these taxes to the Internal Revenue Servicep report the wages to Social Security. For every $2,300 in wages, most household employees earn credits t...
President-elect Joe Biden will not get a traditional honeymoon from Congressional lawmakers to start off his new administration in January. It will severely limit what he can accomplish on his ambitious health care agenda. With sharp divides in both houses of Congress, where a few votes one way or the other could determine success or failure, Biden may even have trouble getting his Cabinet nominations through. Without a doubt, Biden's two-prong agenda – to solve the coronavirus pandemic and patc...
Sixty-six percent of retirees report spending more than $375 a month on healthcare costs, according to a recent survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). “That figure is almost one quarter of the average $1,523 per month Social Security benefit in 2020 and more than the Medicare Trustees estimate for 2020,” says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. Even worse, of that group, 31 percent of survey participants said they spend more than $1,000 a month on total healthcare costs — rough...
