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Elder Care Information |
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Respiratory Help Is Available For Seniors With COPD
As HMOs Continue to Drop Coverage for Seniors - Now Over 500,000 Victims - Those Needing Expensive Respiratory Medication, Support and Homecare Services are the Hardest Hit One Patient Advocate, Geriatric Services of America, is Providing Relief to Victimized Patients Through a Unique, Often No-Cost Program More than 536,000 US senior citizens are scrambling to find new doctors or new coverage because their health plans terminated their Medicare managed-care services, according to a Nonrenewal Report issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the year 2002. Among the hardest hit are seniors in California (84,000), Florida (59,000), Pennsylvania (55,000), New Jersey (53,000), Texas (46,000), and Michigan (31,000), who will be losing coverage in the coming year. Even those with continuing coverage face substantial premium hikes and dwindling drug benefits. Particularly hard hit will be those with chronic illnesses such as respiratory disease, who will bear the brunt of high medication and healthcare costs. Though all seniors 65 and older are covered by Medicare, those enrolled in managed-care programs agree to see doctors within a limited network and receive additional benefits, such as preventative care and prescription-drug coverage. The current coverage crisis stems from rising delivery costs and limited government reimbursement, as doctors and hospitals increasingly balk at seeing Medicare HMO patients, since they aren't sufficiently reimbursed for their services. Without enough doctors and hospitals providing care, an HMO can't serve its members. The problem is worst in large urban markets, where more than half of Medicare + Choice beneficiaries live nationwide but where reimbursement rate increases have trailed rising costs since 1997. To compensate for the funding shortfall, premiums for seniors retaining Medicare HMO coverage are expected to spike while benefits dwindle in the coming year. In California's Sacramento-area, for example, monthly premiums for Kaiser Permanente's Senior Advantage Medicare Plan will double from $40 to $80 starting Jan. 1st. Healthnet, following suit, is raising premiums 50 percent, from $40 to $60 per month for its Seniority Plus members in the area. Pacificare and Western Health Advantage, while holding monthly premiums at $50 in their Sacramento-area Medicare plans, will eliminate brand name drug coverage next year. Across the nation, seniors caught between rising premiums and shrinking coverage will find themselves in a similar bind. Even those with Medigap policies will feel the squeeze. Medigap policies A through J, for instance, have minimum standard benefit packages, and the H, I, and J plans covering prescriptions have annual drug caps ranging from $1,250 to $2,000. For the 30 million Americans with a Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disease (COPD) such as asthma, emphysema or cystic fibrosis - collectively the fourth leading cause of death in the US, however, help is available with Geriatric Services of America (GSA), a national community service organization based in Tempe, Arizona which provides direct help and support to older Americans suffering from chronic respiratory disease. Through its Respiratory Disease Control Program, GSA provides access to a comprehensive range of special medication benefits, as well as support and homecare services, which eliminates out-of-pocket expenses for patients with primary or supplemental insurance coverage. Through GSA's patient support center, nebulizers and respiratory medication are provided and paid for with free home delivery, conveniently packaged and ready to use. GSA handles all paperwork, and clinical Patient Care Coordinators work with doctors and insurance companies once a patient has enrolled in the Respiratory Disease Control Program. Patients can enroll themselves in the program; there is nothing to buy, and no enrollment or membership fees. Currently, Medicare, AARP, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, and over 180 other insurers have special benefits for patients with respiratory disease. GSA provides access to these benefits, and coordinates all elements of care to help patients, doctors, and insurance companies combat respiratory disease. At a time when US seniors face restricted health care access, rising premiums, and shrinking benefits, GSA stands out as a welcome ally for those needing respiratory medication benefits, support, or homecare services. For more information about GSA, or how someone you know can enroll in this special wellcare program, write to 4812 South Mill Ave., Tempe, AZ 85282; call 800-307-8048; fax 800-345-2425; or email Gary Rheault directly at grheault@geriatricservices.com. About The Author Del Williams is a technical writer based in Torrance, California.
MORE RESOURCES: 'Failure of government': Nunavut elder care needs to be brought home, federal minister says - CBC.ca Kamala Harris vows to revive Biden’s defeated ‘care economy’ plans The Washington Post MLA presses government on status of elder-care home work Nunatsiaq News Quebec is 'one minute to midnight before a collapse of the elder-care system,' provider says Montreal Gazette Abuse of older people World Health Organization (WHO) Considerations When Offering Senior Care Dining Times i Advance Senior Care Seniors' podcast aims to ease loneliness by sharing inspiring stories from nursing home residents ABC News Home-based dementia day care service seeks hosts Yahoo Canada Shine On Long-Term Care, Retirement Home and Elder Care Lodge Resources Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit With dementia rates projected to rise, northerners call for better elder care in Nunavut Nunatsiaq News Suspected gunman in Croatia nursing home killings charged on 11 counts, including murder Yahoo News Canada Norbert Health and Lumina Care Announce Strategic Partnership to Transform Elder Care through AI Technology Business Wire Older adults and population aging statistics Statistique Canada Eskasoni, Province Celebrate Opening of New Long-Term Care Home Government of Nova Scotia Suspect detained in Croatia after ‘savage’ shooting at senior’s home kills 6 South China Morning Post Senior and Older Adult Resources Cash Advance Payday Loans Hamilton Meet Lorraine Breuer, 2024 Hall of Honor inductee McKnight's Long-Term Care News A fire, two deaths and the business of elder care in India Al Jazeera English Canadian grad's elder care app wins Apple's Swift Student Challenge, earns Tim Cook's praise MobileSyrup Seniors Recreation & Things to Do City of Toronto Croatia: Several dead in nursing home attack DW (English) Could a robot keep grandma company? UBC IDEA lab experiments with AI for elder care - Ubyssey Online Whatever Happened to All Those Care Robots? The Atlantic Older people’s risk of abuse is rising. Can an ad campaign protect them? The Conversation Indonesia Sponsored: Winnipeg’s home-style elder care cottages Winnipeg Free Press Creating 'centres of excellence' will help improve senior care in hospitals, says health minister CBC.ca A gunman has killed 6 people including his mother at a nursing home in Croatia, officials say The Associated Press Senior hospitalized with multiple infections suffered neglect in care home, children allege - CBC.ca Health System News Transforming Elderly Care with the Hospital Elder Life Program Ontario Hospital Association Perley Health Foundation reaches $10M goal to transform elder care Ottawa Business Journal Alyssa Renk: State must do something to support elder care Winona Daily News Frailty Coordinator Lauren Jefferson supports seniors in their health care journey Nova Scotia Health Authority Hiring An Elder Law Attorney Forbes Australia looks to digital strategies for better elder care BioWorld Online Personal Conflicts, Even Violence, Are Not Uncommon in Long-Term Care The New York Times Seniors spend thousands on dental work, suffer in pain or wind up in ERs. Will Canada's plan help? CBC News 'Exceptional circumstances' sees seniors at Saint John hospital given priority for nursing home beds CBC.ca Family sues South Bay nursing home after 98-year-old beaten to death KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care The New York Times Unsung Heroes: How Elder Care Leans on Singapore’s Women Think Global Health OMHHyperLocal World Brain Day Struggles And Hope Of Abandoned Elderly Patients With Dementia At SHEOWS Onlymyhealth Blue Haven Bonaira aged care home sold for $95 million after pushing Kiama Council into heavy debt ABC News Ontario Breaks Ground on Long-Term Care Home in Scarborough Government of Ontario News Indian elderly need people to talk to, places to go to and feel needed, says Asheesh Gupta, founder of Sa The Times of India Nursing home reform could move to the ‘side burner’ with Harris focused on reproductive rights McKnight's Long-Term Care News Connecting Ontarians to The Tools They Need to Stay Healthy This Respiratory Illness Season Government of Ontario News Croatia shooting: Gunman opens fire inside elderly care home killing at least five people Evening Standard The choice is clear on aged care reform National Seniors Mental health of older adults World Health Organization (WHO) No prison for a nursing home owner who sent 800 residents to ride out a hurricane in squalor Yahoo! Voices |
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