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The Alaska State Medicare Information Office is spreading this alert about a prevalent scam: Scammers pretending to be Medicare representatives have been calling Alaska seniors recently looking for their Medicare numbers and banking information. They say they need the information so that the senior can get a new Medicare card. (Frequently they say it is needed under the Affordable Care Act.) Medicare will never contact beneficiaries by phone, email, or at their door seeking personal information. Neither Medicare nor Social Security needs...
"Our objective is helping people to live as independently as they would like. Confidence is our goal." Lowell Zercher, Manual Skills Instructor for the Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, chooses these words to explain the mission of the center. "We want our clients to be involved in life, to meet their life and work goals and contribute their talents to others, to the community." Lowell has worked at the center in Anchorage for 14 years. He is often found in the shop at the...
We seniors are natural scam targets and very susceptible to fraud. As we get older we are less likely to consider the downside of the financial risks – we are more apt to look at the upside. We are less critical in our decision making, which makes us vulnerable. The scammers are perceived as trustworthy helpers. They may be a family member, financial advisor or another senior. The National Council on Aging, AARP and OPAG suggest you watch out for the following scams: Prescription drug scams. Seniors often take a myriad of prescription medicatio...
“It was hard to see him go, he could hardly speak. I was so glad to have him here at home. One night I watched the kitty jump up on the bed near his head and Dick said very clearly ‘Hi Zackie.’ I knew then Dick knew he was home”. – June Juelson, widow of Richard Juelson, Anchorage. At any age, we must all face the possibility of a serious illness that we or our family and friends will not survive. Hospice helps patients and families focus on living by offering a family-centered team of trained professionals who provide care in the home, hos...
I bring you some details about the Medicare Part D drug program for 2014. Enrollment started October 15th and will continue until Dec. 7, 2014. The lowest premium is $12.50 per month but there is a deductible of $310 with that plan, which you must pay before the insurance kicks in. There are 25 different plans with the prices for the monthly premium running from the aforementioned $12.50 up to $136. You can see a chart of the Alaska Medicare Part D plans for 2014 on page 10 of the November...
While people in Alaska such as Navigators, Assistors and staff in many departments are preparing for people to enroll in the Affordable Care Act’s (Obamacare) Health Insurance Marketplace, scam artists and crooks are licking their chops, too. Fraudsters look for a period of transition where there is consumer confusion and prey on fear and misinformation. There will be con artists calling and sending literature that looks like the real deal and there will be scams of products offering what looks like a real insurance product but isn’t. And the...
This month, October, is going to be a busy month for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries. October 15 through December 7, 2013, is the timeline to check out the Medicare Part D prescription drug program to see how the insurance companies are going to be treating us for the next year. By Sept. 30, you should hear from the company whose plan you are on with information about what changes they are planning in the cost of your monthly premium, deductible and formulary, as these may change from...
My name is Charles Bischoff but I prefer to be known as “Toney.” I am a senior at University of Alaska Anchorage in human services and have been an intern at Older Persons Action Group for seven months. I received my Medicare Certification in August of this year and will be working with Rita Hatch in the Medicare Counseling and Assistance program at OPAG for another 10 months. I will continue my education with UAA until I receive my Master’s Certificate and plan to work within the Medic...
The Medicare Information Office and its satellite offices around the state will be available for consultation during the annual enrollment period, October 15 through December 7. If your prescription insurance coverage is a Medicare Part D Plan, this is the ideal time to get out your red, white and blue Medicare card and a list of your prescriptions and have a counselor do a plan comparison to advise you of your choices for 2014. We’ll also check on whether you might qualify for the “extra help” program which greatly reduces your out of pocke...
A special all-day “Savvy Caregiver Workshop” will be offered by the Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska this month for caregivers in Soldotna and Homer. The dates and locations are: Oct. 17, Soldotna Senior Center, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22, Homer Senior Center, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To learn more about the workshops or to register, call 1-800-478-1080. Training and support meetings The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following meetings and trainings in October: Oct. 1, Caregiver training at Sterling Senior Center, 1 to 2...
Confusion is common when laws change. And that may be even more true with health care reform, since nobody – including those in Congress who created the law – seems to understand it. One thing is certain, scam artists are out there taking advantage of the lack of knowledge to steal from trusting victims across the country. “There’s been a rapid increase in scams exploiting the confusion over health care reform,” confirmed Jim Quiggle, the spokesman for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. “People are uncertain what it means to them and sw...
I just thought you might want to know that on Wednesday, August 14, Social Security celebrated 78 years of providing retirement security to older Americans. In this time of financial uncertainty, when other sources of retirement income such as pensions and savings are increasingly out of reach for many Americans, Social Security is more important than ever, especially for those who do not have any other retirement income. July 30 marked the 48th anniversary of the establishment of Medicare and...
How will the health insurance Marketplace that starts in 2014 affect my Medicare coverage? The Health Insurance Marketplace is designed to help people who don’t have any health insurance. You have health insurance through Medicare. The Marketplace won’t have any effect on your Medicare coverage. Your Medicare benefits aren’t changing. No matter how you get Medicare, whether through Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan, you’ll still have the same benefits and security you have now, and you won’t have to make any changes. The Marketpla...
Older adults are remaining healthier later in life Life expectancy has increased significantly over the past two decades in the United States and more Americans than ever before are living well into their eighth and ninth decades of life. Now, a new study is showing that Americans are increasingly healthier later in life. “With the exception of the year or two just before death, people are healthier than they used to be,” said study investigator David Cutler, who is with Harvard University, Bos...
Suicide among senior citizens is a major health problem, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many seniors have depression symptoms that are not properly diagnosed which leaves them vulnerable to suicide attempts. Every year, more than 36,000 Americans take their lives, says the CDC. From all these deaths, the age group with the highest rate of suicide is among those over age 65. Another 465,000 had to have medical treatment because of their failed attempts at killing themselves. Seniors who tend to try suicide...
Ever forget to take your pills or simply fail to measure your blood sugar or some other routine health care daily chores? Would it help you remember if you knew that a nurse was coming by regularly to check in and make sure you were doing what you were supposed to do? Simple things sometimes can be revolutionary. A Medicare experimental program, being tested in Doylestown, Pa., that brings a nurse to regularly visit you for continued care – even when you aren’t seriously ill – has been given an 18 month reprieve from being shut down. If it is...
This column will be an introduction to the new Health Insurance Market Place, also known as the health insurance exchange. I will be writing about Alaska and its income limits, however if you live in another state, you can get your financial information by going to www.medicare.gov on the Internet and looking up your state. The Health Insurance Marketplace is a new way to find health coverage that fits your budget and meets your needs. With one application, you can see all your options and also...
Direct-care health aide — helping the elderly bathe, dress and eat — is the fastest growing occupation in the U.S. But the labor shortage is dire. As the baby boomers age, this sector of health care faces a dangerous shortage because the work is surely not “easy street” and the pay is crummy. Aides are often bitten, kicked or cursed at by patients with dementia. Nursing homes and in-home health care agencies are struggling to find help, and about 20 percent of the workers in this field of care are more than 55 years of age and eager to retire....
Since Medicare Part D went into effect in 2006, prescription drugs have been an integral part of the Medicare benefit package. So, the question of how seniors can save additional money on medications often comes up, but so does the question of how the entire Medicare Part D program can be more cost-effective and save taxpayers money without jeopardizing enrollee benefits. Q: Will closing the Part D “doughnut hole” really save beneficiaries money? A: Many seniors may not be aware that the infamous “doughnut hole,” or gap in coverage, is closing...
I would like to reiterate, for all the Affordable Care (ACA) skeptics, the many benefits of ACA: 1. Health care plans now must allow parents to keep their children who are under the age of 26 on their family health coverage. (The exception in Alaska is because our governor has decided that the Alaska Care Retiree Health plan is not subject to that provision.) 2. The new 80/20 law means that insurance companies cannot spend more than 20 percent on administrative costs and must spend at least 80 p...
If a person has had their diabetic testing supplies delivered by a local home medical supplier in the past, they need to know the rules are changing around purchasing and paying for diabetic testing supplies. As of July 1, 2013, if diabetic supplies are delivered to the beneficiary’s home by any method they would not be included as part of the covered benefit under the Medicare program, unless they are being delivered by one of the National Mail Order Program Contract Suppliers. So beneficiaries have two options: They can either have their t...
A free seminar, “Medicare and the Affordable Care Act,” will be offered Aug. 13 at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center from 1 to 3 p.m. Space is limited so RSVP by calling 770-2028....
After five days in the hospital with a fractured spine, Jean Arnau was discharged and needed to transfer to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation. Only then did her family find out that she had never been formally admitted as an inpatient to the hospital. While the care the 84-year-old Rhode Island woman got was exactly the same, she had been classified as an outpatient under “observation” – a status that cost her thousands of dollars more than she would have paid if she had been admitted as an inpatient. The same thing happened to Lo...
Congratulations to Rita Hatch, who was announced in May as the winner of this year’s Ron Hammett Award for outstanding service to seniors in the Anchorage community. Rita was presented the award at the Older Americans Month kick-off event May 2 at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. Ron Hammett was a well-known advocate in Anchorage, having served on the Senior Citizens Advisory Commission, was board chair for the Anchorage Senior Center, and volunteered for AARP. It is fitting Rita be honored...
Editor’s note: This Dept. of Health and Human Services press statement was received on May 9. On May 9, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced new funds to help more uninsured Americans enroll in affordable health insurance coverage made available by the Affordable Care Act. In Alaska an estimated $1.78 million is available to support 25 health centers’ enrollment efforts. Nationwide, funding of approximately $150 million will expand the efforts at community health centers to provide in-person assistance to help enr...
