Reducing Medicare and Medicaid spending by an additional $300 billion over the next 10 years will not affect coverage or quality
Following are excerpts from an article by Barbara Basler in AARPBulletinToday, June 9, 2009:
President Obama’s call to reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending by an additional $200 billion to $300 billion over the next 10 years to help finance health care reforms will “absolutely not” affect coverage, benefits or quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries, says Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform.
Older Americans “can rest assured these are proposals that will help strengthen the Medicare Trust Fund and strengthen the Medicare program for beneficiaries,” DeParle said yesterday in an interview with the AARP Bulletin.
Obama originally had called for cost savings in Medicare and Medicaid totaling $309 billion over 10 years.
But in a letter last week to the heads of two Senate committees working on health care legislation, the president suggested squeezing an additional $200 billion to $300 billion from the programs, for total savings of up to about $600 billion. The new savings, Obama said, would come through such measures as better management of chronic diseases, elimination of duplicate tests and providing more preventive care.
The full article can be seen at:
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/medicare/articles/medicare_beneficiaries.html?cmp=NLC-RSS-DAILY-BULLETIN
Sounds like good news, although none of us really know what's going to happen, regardless what is said!!
So let's hope for the best!!!
Have a great day.
Tom Binder
Seniors Real Estate Specialist
Showing posts with label Medicare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medicare. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Importance of Discharge Planning and Transition Care
The following was published in the May 2009 Senior Independence Update by Home Safety Services, and it highlights the importance of a specific transition plan after discharge from a hospital.
Re-hospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries are prevalent and costly. This was the conclusion made by Jencks et al., in their recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine that examined 15 months of Medicare claims data to describe patterns of re-hospitalization among 12 million Medicare beneficiaries. Two-thirds were re-hospitalized or died within a year of discharge; 90% of re-hospitalizations were unplanned; and half of those re-hospitalized within 30 days had no evidence of having seen a doctor between hospital encounters. The cost of unplanned re-hospitalizations in 2004 was estimated to be $17.4 billion dollars. According to the study's authors, "a safe transition...requires care that centers on the patient and transcends organizational boundaries". Providers are thus encouraged to partner with other disciplines (e.g. home health, physical therapy, homecare, home safety, etc.) so as to ensure a continuum of care.
More information on safety in your home and Aging in Place can be found at the Home Safety Services link available on this site's opening page.
Take care and be safe at home!!
Tom Binder
Seniors Real Estate Specialist
Re-hospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries are prevalent and costly. This was the conclusion made by Jencks et al., in their recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine that examined 15 months of Medicare claims data to describe patterns of re-hospitalization among 12 million Medicare beneficiaries. Two-thirds were re-hospitalized or died within a year of discharge; 90% of re-hospitalizations were unplanned; and half of those re-hospitalized within 30 days had no evidence of having seen a doctor between hospital encounters. The cost of unplanned re-hospitalizations in 2004 was estimated to be $17.4 billion dollars. According to the study's authors, "a safe transition...requires care that centers on the patient and transcends organizational boundaries". Providers are thus encouraged to partner with other disciplines (e.g. home health, physical therapy, homecare, home safety, etc.) so as to ensure a continuum of care.
More information on safety in your home and Aging in Place can be found at the Home Safety Services link available on this site's opening page.
Take care and be safe at home!!
Tom Binder
Seniors Real Estate Specialist
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage
Excerpts from an article in AARP Bulletin Today, by Patricia Barry, October 24, 2008
Before deciding whether to sign up for Medicare drug coverage, you need to understand how the program works together as a whole. Grasping the big picture makes it easier to deal with the details.
Who can get Medicare drug coverage?
Anyone on Medicare (with either Part A or Part B) is entitled to drug coverage (known as Part D) regardless of income. No physical exams are required. You cannot be denied for health reasons or because you already use a lot of prescription drugs.
Do I have to sign up?
For most people, joining Part D is voluntary. However, if you now get your drugs from Medicaid, you must get them from a Medicare drug plan as soon as you become eligible for Medicare.
You won’t need to sign up if you have other drug coverage that is better than Medicare’s—for example, benefits from a current or former employer or union. (See Deciding Whether You Need Part D.)
But if you don’t have other drug coverage that’s considered as good as Medicare, and you delay signing up, you’ll incur a late penalty that adds to your premiums for as long as you’re in the program, except in certain circumstances.
Related Questions:
• What is the late enrollment penalty?
• Can I wait and sign up later when I need coverage?
• How can I avoid a late penalty?
• How do I tell if my current coverage is better or worse than Medicare’s?
For answers to these questions and to read the entire article, click on the following link:
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/medicare/articles/how_medicare_part_d_drug_coverage_works.html
This article includes a lot of really good information.
Regards
Tom Binder
Seniors Real Estate Specialist
Before deciding whether to sign up for Medicare drug coverage, you need to understand how the program works together as a whole. Grasping the big picture makes it easier to deal with the details.
Who can get Medicare drug coverage?
Anyone on Medicare (with either Part A or Part B) is entitled to drug coverage (known as Part D) regardless of income. No physical exams are required. You cannot be denied for health reasons or because you already use a lot of prescription drugs.
Do I have to sign up?
For most people, joining Part D is voluntary. However, if you now get your drugs from Medicaid, you must get them from a Medicare drug plan as soon as you become eligible for Medicare.
You won’t need to sign up if you have other drug coverage that is better than Medicare’s—for example, benefits from a current or former employer or union. (See Deciding Whether You Need Part D.)
But if you don’t have other drug coverage that’s considered as good as Medicare, and you delay signing up, you’ll incur a late penalty that adds to your premiums for as long as you’re in the program, except in certain circumstances.
Related Questions:
• What is the late enrollment penalty?
• Can I wait and sign up later when I need coverage?
• How can I avoid a late penalty?
• How do I tell if my current coverage is better or worse than Medicare’s?
For answers to these questions and to read the entire article, click on the following link:
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/medicare/articles/how_medicare_part_d_drug_coverage_works.html
This article includes a lot of really good information.
Regards
Tom Binder
Seniors Real Estate Specialist
Monday, January 12, 2009
Refining Medicare
In the drive to fix the country’s ailing health care system, Medicare is likely to undergo some changes.
From article by Patricia Barry, AARP Bulletin Print Edition, January 7, 2009.
In the drive to fix the country’s ailing health care system, Medicare is likely to undergo some changes. Campaign promises from President-elect Barack Obama and a white paper issued by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, suggest that some specific Medicare proposals will get serious consideration this year.
Longtime ideological battles over whether Medicare should be a public or privatized program won’t melt away overnight, but may ease, experts say. “I think if President Obama has any influence, he’ll try to steer Congress away from that,” says Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington.
At a time of rising unemployment, Medicare’s finances could worsen faster than expected because of lost revenue from payroll taxes. Yet Medicare could lead the reform field if it reins in escalating health care costs. “The policies Medicare adopts are often taken up by private payers,” says John Rother, AARP’s director of policy. “Medicare is so large that it’s the only system with enough leverage to get doctors, hospitals and other health providers to change.”
See full article at:
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/medicare/articles/refining_medicare.html
Regards
Tom Binder
From article by Patricia Barry, AARP Bulletin Print Edition, January 7, 2009.
In the drive to fix the country’s ailing health care system, Medicare is likely to undergo some changes. Campaign promises from President-elect Barack Obama and a white paper issued by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, suggest that some specific Medicare proposals will get serious consideration this year.
Longtime ideological battles over whether Medicare should be a public or privatized program won’t melt away overnight, but may ease, experts say. “I think if President Obama has any influence, he’ll try to steer Congress away from that,” says Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington.
At a time of rising unemployment, Medicare’s finances could worsen faster than expected because of lost revenue from payroll taxes. Yet Medicare could lead the reform field if it reins in escalating health care costs. “The policies Medicare adopts are often taken up by private payers,” says John Rother, AARP’s director of policy. “Medicare is so large that it’s the only system with enough leverage to get doctors, hospitals and other health providers to change.”
See full article at:
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/medicare/articles/refining_medicare.html
Regards
Tom Binder
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