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After a year of experience, how are we doing? We're loving it! Aging at Home Fairbanks (AAH) is a membership organization for older adults. It connects members with each other and the resources they need to remain active and independent as they age. AAH launched in January 2016. Quite soon we had 40 members and 30 volunteers. A year and a half later, we have over 80 members and 50 volunteers. We partner with the North Star Council on Aging and the Fairbanks Senior Center, which is our fiscal...
With Better Business Bureau’s free annual event, the Secure Your ID shred day, coming up, it’s a good time to remind people about steps they can take to prevent identity theft. The first line of defense in protecting your identity is to shred all documents with personal information. That includes credit card, bank, utility and other statements, old IRS and tax information, medical statements and credit card offers. Many instances of identity theft still occur by physical methods – dumpster diving and stealing mail out of unsecured mailb...
Every day, 10,000 people turn 65 and the eldest baby boomers will begin to turn 80 in 2026, so the demand for long term care services is about to explode in the near future. Already 1.4 million seniors live in nursing home facilities in the U.S. But states are only making lukewarm progress helping millions of seniors on Medicaid avoid costly nursing home care by arranging home or community services for them instead, a new AARP report finds. Overall, AARP says states have made “incremental improvements” since its 2014 Scorecard, but calls the...
Members and guests of the Bartlett Political Forum, aka the Bartlett Club, in Anchorage were entertained by none other than Jon "Bowzer" Bauman during a presentation July 20. Yes, he is still around and continues to entertain. He parodied "Good Night Sweetheart," singing "Goodnight Trumpcare, well it's time to go," and played a piece by Schubert that he said his mother enjoyed hearing. Most in the audience remembered Bauman's popular Sha Na Na character, "Bowzer," a gangly, slender-armed...
Editor, I read your July edition. As usual, there were many articles on Medicare, most apparently talking down to recipients. Have you ever considered an article from the recipients’ viewpoint? First off, please remember that most of the people enrolled in Medicare pay premiums for Medicare and D and Supplements. Medicare is not free. Are statistics available on the total paid to Medicare? Supplements are quite expensive but they must be profitable to insurance companies or the companies would not offer them. Often, medical practitioners s...
This is an ongoing series from the Diverse Elders Coalition, looking at different segments of the senior population. Hispanics and Latinos make up the fastest-growing demographic of the U.S. population. In 2015, the Hispanic population reached 56.6 million, making Hispanics the nation’s largest ethnic/racial minority, constituting 17.6 percent of the US population. It is projected that by 2060, the Hispanic population will reach 119 million, or 28.6 percent of the U.S. population. In addition to rapid population growth, Hispanics and Latinos a...
What is a Health Insurance Marketplace plan? If I have a Marketplace plan and I become eligible for Medicare should I switch? What are the advantages of Medicare over the Marketplace? How do I disenroll from my Marketplace plan? What if I didn’t switch to Medicare when I could have? What is Time Limited Equitable Relief and do I qualify for it? These are a few of the questions many people turning 65 are asking and we will try to answer for you. What is the Health Insurance Marketplace? First o...
Dear Savvy Senior: I’m worried about my 72-year-old mother who has been taking the opioid medication Vicodin for her hip and back pain for more than a year. I fear she’s becoming addicted to the drug but I don’t know what to do. Concerned Daughter Dear Concerned: The opioid epidemic is a national problem that is hitting people of all ages, including millions of older Americans. Here’s what you should know and do to help your mother. The cause The main reason opioid addiction has become such a problem for people over age 50 is because over th...
Warning: This story may raise your blood pressure. For sure, it raises troubling questions about the U.S. government’s ability to manage a medical bureaucracy. Medicare, the government insurance program that provides health care to 55 million elderly and disabled Americans, continues to provide a steady income stream for criminals who are regularly finding innovative ways to steal a good sized chunk of the half-trillion dollars that are paid out annually by the program. This comes despite strong efforts by health investigators and Justice D...
Despite the fact that this bill has over 100 Congressional co-sponsors, you probably have not heard about H.R. 676, The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act. This legislation would: • guarantee access to comprehensive, high quality, affordable health care to all U.S. residents; • allow you to go to doctors and hospitals of your choice (unlike private insurance, which often forces you to use their list of doctors and hospitals); • not require you to pay copayments or deductibles; • not surprise you with huge unexpected medical bills....
Editor’s note: This commentary was received on May 25, 2017. Sometimes legislation in Congress has unintended consequences. This is one of those times. The American Health Care Act (AHCA) that recently passed in the U.S. House, and awaits action in the Senate, would increase costs and risks for Alaskans including: seniors, children and adults with disabilities, people with pre-existing conditions, and those ages 50 to 64. The AHCA would ax federal funding for Medicaid which supports health programs for vulnerable Alaskans. Such a huge loss o...
After the National Family Caregiver Support Act was passed by U.S. Congress in 2000, the Senior and Caregiver Resource Center based in Juneau began offering caregiver-specific resources to elders and their families throughout Southeast Alaska. As per the Act, the center provides five different levels of service: 1) information, 2) assistance, 3) counseling, training and support groups, 4) respite care and 5) supplemental services, according to Marianne Mills, Southeast Senior Services (SESS)...
Medicare and Medicaid are two programs that can offer a strong combination health insurance for seniors. Many people get the two programs confused because of the similarity of their names. Medicare is health insurance offered by the federal government for people over the age of 65, people who have been receiving Social Security Disability benefits for 24 months and for those of any age who have been diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Medicaid is a federal and state program offering...
The medical world can be a confusing place between insurance, medications, diagnosis, let alone understanding all of the medical jargon. Most people know about hospice care, but less people know about palliative care. Understanding the meaning of words can mean everything, especially around end-of-life, as it can be a sensitive topic. Not to confuse anyone, but we are Hospice of Anchorage and we are a palliative care agency. When it comes to treatment there are some differences in the timeframe and patient goals between hospice and palliative...
Nila Morgan, Master Certified Medicare Counselor and Fraud Education Coordinator, will walk you through how to read your Summary Notice and teach you to protect yourself from Medicare fraud at this workshop, July 13 at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, 1 to 2:30 p.m. Bring along any confusing bills or statements as well as all documentation in your red, white and blue Medicare card. Call 770-2070 with questions or to RSVP. Seating is limited....
Are you aware that Medicare works with the State of Alaska to provide assistance programs that can help with your Medicare costs? These costs can include your Medicare Part A & Part B premiums deductibles, coinsurance charges and copayments. These programs are available to all Medicare beneficiaries. There are three programs known as the Medicare Savings programs (MSPs), each having different income limits and resource parameters. The income and asset qualifications are different if you are...
Hospice of Anchorage was founded in 1980 and is a nonprofit, 501(c) (3) organization and a partner agency of the United Way of Anchorage. We typically provide all our services at no charge, except those patients that do not yet qualify for Medicare Hospice. We also offer one-on-one grief support and peer grief support groups for anyone in the community, infant to adult, who has experienced a death loss. Volunteers are a crucial function of Hospice of Anchorage’s services. Hospice of Anchorage has three full-time and six part-time staff m...
Are you looking for resources that will allow you to maintain your independence as you age? Look no further than your local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). Servicing locations all over Alaska, ADRCs are the link between the individual and various services catering to seniors, caregivers and people with disabilities. "We listen to what individuals are asking for and explain and offer a variety of services such as Medicare, senior benefit programs, personal care services and more...
The Trump administration has proposed slashing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, saying it is bloated with unnecessary expenses resulting in waste and abuse. It has also proposed to eliminate the independent status of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and absorb it into the NIH. AHRQ is a little-known agency that focuses on improving health care quality and applying it to patient safety. It is one of the true unsung heroes of the federal government, providing vital scientific research that has helped reduce...
Sudden price spikes in older drugs are putting patients at risk of going without vital medicine. A new report by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging uncovered an insidious business model that’s leading to monopoly pricing power and astronomical price increases. Berna Heyman, a retired librarian who has Wilson Disease testified how she was a victim of obscene price gouging. Her annual co-pay for the drug Syprine rose from $700 in 2013 to $10,000 in 2014, with her drug plan paying over $260,000. When she and her doctor applied for V...
Are you aware that if you have Medicare Part B you are eligible to receive a large number of preventive services that will cost you nothing? Medicare’s goal in offering these preventive screenings is to find health problems early when treatment works best. Under Medicare Part B, preventive services are part of your benefits and you will pay no co-payment if you get the services from a provider who takes assignment. Taking assignment means that this provider has an agreement with Medicare to a...
Dear Savvy Senior, I’ve recently read that all baby boomers should get tested for hepatitis C. Is this really necessary, and if so, what are the testing and treatment procedures? – Healthy Boomer Dear Healthy, It’s true. Both the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that all baby boomers – people born from 1945 through 1965 – get a hepatitis C test. The reason is because baby boomers account for 75 percent of the 3 million or so hepatitis C cases in the U.S. Those that are infec...
Hospice of Anchorage has been around since 1980 and is a nonprofit, 501(c) (3) organization and a partner agency to United Way of Anchorage. We are a community agency comprised of an interdisciplinary team – volunteers, nurses, social workers, volunteer coordinator and a bereavement coordinator. We provide assistance with transition from life through death and to cope with loss and grief. This may be a one-time visit, periodic contact or may grow into an ongoing relationship lasting weeks, months or years. All services are provided free of c...
On Memorial Day, we honor the soldiers and service members who have given their lives for our nation. Social Security respects the heroism and courage of our military service members, and we remember those who have given their lives in defense of freedom. Part of how we honor service members is the way we provide Social Security benefits. The unexpected loss of a family member is a difficult experience for anyone. Social Security helps by providing benefits to protect service members’ dependents. Widows, widowers, and their dependent children m...
You like potato, I like potahto You like tomato, I like tomahto Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto Let’s call the whole thing off! The point the Gershwin brothers were making, I take it, was that slight differences in semantics shouldn’t make any difference in reality. Okay, maybe it’s more complicated than that, but I didn’t write this column to talk about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Sometimes, slight wording differences matter tremendously. Take Medicare and Medicaid, for example. They so...
