The official blog for the U.S. Medicare program. For more information, please visit www.medicare.gov
July 30
We’re getting ready to unveil a redesigned Medicare.gov that will make it easier and faster for you to get answers to your Medicare questions. With the new website, you’ll find more ways to get to information you need, like costs, covered services and items, and plans that fit your needs. In the meantime, keep visiting Medicare.gov – the official online source for your Medicare information.
July 23
Even when it’s a labor of love, caring for an aged, seriously ill or disabled friend or family member can be hard, and you may wonder whether anybody can understand what you’re going through. Actually, many people can relate to your situation—did you know nearly 66 million Americans serve as caregivers? It’s difficult to wrap your mind around a number that large, which is why we created Caregiver Stories.
Meet James Patterson. James became a caregiver to his wife on New Year’s Day 2005, after she was hospitalized with complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As with many others in his situation, he didn’t just wake up that day and choose to become a caregiver. “It’s a very long process, becoming a caregiver, and you never realize you’ve begun until you have a chance to reflect.”
According to James, being a caregiver is a big responsibility, one that can be isolating. “I think men, in particular, tend to think they can handle everything themselves and are not as comfortable asking for help,” he says. “That’s a mistake—it’s important to get help when you need it and have support structures in place.”
James suggests that caregivers take some time for themselves when and if they can. Two or 3 times a week, he has a caregiving helper come and stay with his wife for a few hours.
“These breaks are extremely important because I can get chores or errands done or go play a game of golf,” he explains. “As a caregiver, you can never really get away—you’re always there. But, if you can find time for something else and get away from your daily routine even for a short while, it can be very rejuvenating.”
Although the physical demands are great, he also notes the emotional weight that many caregivers carry. “A struggle I deal with as a caregiver is that you don’t always get a ‘thank you’ for your hard work because it becomes expected and part of the routine, which can sometimes make you frustrated or angry. However, my actions are just part of our way of our life, so ‘thank-yous’ aren’t needed or expected anymore, and when one comes along, it’s a really big deal.”
His “best advice” for new caregivers: “Be patient and be in it for the long haul. Get as much information as possible and know that people are there to support you.” James describes the resources at Ask Medicare and the National Institute on Aging as invaluable. “They cover everything from bathing to hygiene to incontinence. I’m learning something new every day. I can show the materials available to my wife and we can read them together so she can help me help her.”
If James’ story inspired you or gave you food for thought about your caregiver experience, then please consider sharing your best tips and lessons. Write about your experience and send a photo to caregiverstories@cms.hhs.gov–we may add your story to our website!
July 20
It can be a bit intimidating to choose a hospital for surgery or to make plans for when you’re discharged. Whenever you or a loved one with Medicare moves from one health care setting to another, use Hospital Compare, Home Health Compare and Nursing Home Compare to help you make smooth and safe transitions.
If you need surgery, make sure you and your plan of care team find a provider that meets your needs. Hospital Compare lets you compare up to 3 hospitals in your area to see how they did with different situations, such as giving their surgery patients an antibiotic at the right time to help prevent infection. It will also tell you about patient experience, such as the percentage of patients who reported “yes,” they would definitely recommend the hospital. Next, use our discharge planning checklist to help plan your next steps.
Where will you go once you’ve left the hospital? You might need home health services if your family and friends can’t effectively care for you and you’re not able to leave home without considerable effort. Medicare covers the cost of home health care if you’re eligible and your doctor says you need them.
You can use Home Health Compare to see how often a home health agency used best practices when caring for its patients and whether its patients got better in certain important areas of care. Once you narrow down your choices, our 12-point home health agency checklist can help you choose an agency that meets your needs.
In some cases, you and your plan of care team may decide you need to go to a nursing home instead of getting home health services. Medicare doesn’t cover most nursing home costs. Under certain limited conditions, Medicare will pay some nursing home costs if you need skilled nursing or rehabilitation services. Nursing Home Compare can help you find detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the country. Once you narrow down your choices, use our nursing home checklist to help you judge the places you call or visit.
You and your plan of care team have many important decisions to make whenever you move from a hospital to home health care or to a nursing home. Let our checklists and Hospital Compare, Home Health Compare and Nursing Home Compare help you make informed choices.
July 9
Got your passport? Check. Change of clothes? Check. Trip insurance? Check. Additional health care coverage? What?
You take time checking into airfare, hotels, and sightseeing adventures, so why not make sure you know what your health care covers when you go on vacation? This is especially important if you’re traveling outside the U.S.
Original Medicare generally doesn’t cover care you get abroad—however, you are covered if you visit Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana Islands, as they’re considered part of the U.S.
If you take a cruise, you may be covered by Medicare if the ship’s doctor is allowed to provide medical services under certain laws and the ship is closer than 6 hours away from a U.S. port. Medicare won’t cover services you get if your ship is further away than 6 hours from a U.S. port.
In rare cases, Medicare will pay for inpatient hospital services you get in Canada or Mexico. For example, you may be covered if you’re in the U.S. when a medical emergency happens and a Canadian or Mexican hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat the emergency.
Visit “Medicare Coverage Outside the United States” for more details on what Medicare covers when you’re on a cruise or out of the country.
Also, keep healthy by being aware of local health conditions at your destination. The Centers for Disease Control’s Traveler’s Health Web page has health information for travel to more than 200 international destinations. Bon Voyage!
July 6
Medicare has always covered preventive services to keep you healthy, and you already know how important they are. But did you know that your family and friends can also take advantage of them–even if they don’t have Medicare?
Under the health care law, many insurance companies must cover free preventive health services like yearly wellness visits, immunizations, some cancer screenings, and more. Your loved ones won’t have to pay a copayment or coinsurance, or meet a deductible, as long as they get these services from a provider in their plan’s network.
Taking advantage of these benefits is an easy and important way for your family and friends to stay healthy. Preventive benefits can keep them from getting certain diseases, or can help them find health problems early, when treatment works best.
Better health is in your hands–but not just your health. Talk with your friends and family so they can join the millions of Americans who are already using these benefits. By spreading the word today, you can help keep them healthy for all those tomorrows you want to enjoy.
Need more information?
June 28
Written By: Ingrid Donato, Mental Health Promotion Branch Chief, Center for Mental Health Services. Crosspost from SAMHSA Blog.
Bullying-like aggression can happen to people of all ages – including older Americans. One has to look no further than the situation of Karen Klein, the 68-year-old monitor of Bus 784 in Greece, NY who was tormented by adolescents in a school bus.
Although bullying is typically defined as occurring among youth, what happened on this bus shows that this type of aggression can happen to anyone. For older adults these problems can occur in many settings, including their homes and long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes or assisted living residencesllying can come at the hands of many people in direct contact with elders, including caregivers, family, or even facility residents.
One of the most painful forms of bullying is isolation.
As hard as it is to spot, and sometimes accept, offenders may include family members and old friends, newly developed “friends” who intentionally prey on older adults, and service providers in positions of trust.
While there is no typical profile of an abuser, the following are some behavioral signs that may indicate problems:
Taking time to listen and to really “hear” people–of any age—are the first lines of defense against bullying. Looking for these signs and carefully talking with the older people in your life can be an important first step in determining whether or not there is a problem. If you know someone who is being bullied or is a victim of aggressive behavior, there are steps you can take to get the bullying to stop – and the information is available at:
http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/related-topics/young-adults/index.html
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If you suspect elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation, visit the National Center on Elder Abuse to find phone numbers for your state, or call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or the local police.
Through communication and action, older Americans and people of all ages can free themselves of the risks, torment and trauma of events like what happened on Bus 784.
June 25
Did you know that more than 1 million Americans are living with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection, yet approximately 1 in 5 of them don’t know it?
Have you been tested? Medicare covers HIV screening once every 12 months, or up to 3 times during a pregnancy, for people with Medicare of any age who ask for the test, pregnant women, and people at increased risk for the infection (such as gay and bisexual men, injection drug users, or people with multiple sexual partners). You pay nothing for the tests, but you generally have to pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for the doctor visit.
Early testing and diagnosis is key to prevention. At least 1 in 3 people in the U.S. who test positive for HIV is tested too late to get the full advantage of treatment. Early testing cuts the spread of disease, extends life expectancy, and cuts costs of care. Testing is an important first step in bringing people with HIV infection the medical care and support they need to improve their health and help them maintain safer behaviors.
June 27 is National HIV Testing Day. Make sure your loved ones have been tested—the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 be tested for HIV at least once in their lifetime. You can learn more about HIV testing and what you can do to increase testing awareness by visiting the Centers for Disease Control.
June 18
Do you or a loved one have cataracts? A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens that affects vision. According to the National Eye Institute, by age 80, more than half of all Americans will either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.
Medicare can help. Medicare Part B covers cataract surgery, and after surgery Medicare helps pay for cataract glasses, contact lenses, or intraocular lenses you get from an ophthalmologist.
Cataracts often come with age—they affect the vision of about half of all people between 65 and 74. Your risk for cataracts also may increase through long term exposure to sunlight, if you have diabetes, or if you smoke. New eyeglasses, brighter lighting, anti-glare sunglasses, or magnifying lenses may help your symptoms. If not, you may need surgery to remove the cloudy lens and replace it with an artificial lens.
June is Cataract Awareness Month. Visit the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health to learn more about cataracts.
June 1
Have you ever put off doing a task or getting a test and later wished you’d just gotten it over with? Now’s the time to talk with your doctor about whether you should get screened for prostate cancer. It’s the most common cancer in men, second only to lung cancer in the number of cancer deaths. The potential benefit of prostate cancer screening is early detection of cancer, which may make treatment more effective.
If you’re a man 50 or over, Medicare covers a digital rectal exam and Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test once every 12 months. Generally, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for the digital rectal exam after the yearly Part B deductible. You pay nothing for the PSA test.
Not sure if you should get screened? You’re at a higher risk for getting prostate cancer if you’re a man 50 or older, are African-American, or have a father, brother, or son who has had prostate cancer.
June is Men’s Health Month, a perfect time for you (and the men in your life) to take the steps to live a safer, healthier life. Visit the Centers for Disease Control for more information on men’s health and prostate cancer.
May 28
Are you or a loved one hooked on tobacco? Join the millions who’ve found a good reason to give it up—tobacco use is the second leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for 1 in every 10 adult deaths.
If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Part B covers free counseling sessions as a preventive service to help you quit smoking—you pay nothing if your doctor accepts Medicare’s payment.
If you’ve already been diagnosed with an illness caused or made worse by tobacco use or you take a medicine affected by tobacco, you can continue to get up to 8 face-to-face counseling visits every 12 months. You pay your Part B deductible, and 20% of the Medicare-approved amount. If you get counseling in a hospital outpatient setting, you also pay the hospital a copayment.
Make May 31—World “No Tobacco” Day—your starting point to kick the habit. Visit the Centers for Disease Control and the National Cancer Institute to learn more about tobacco use and how you can overcome it.
Also, watch our video about the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day campaign and how Medicare supports it.
