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From enews@aoa.hhs.gov, 11/18/2010

Message from the Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee

Smoking and Older Adults…Make a plan to quit today!

Tobacco use is the leading cause of premature and preventable death in the U.S., responsible for 443,000 deaths each year.  Most of these deaths are among people age 65 and older. Smoking has profound effects on the lives and health of older adults, dramatically increasing their risk of heart attack, stroke, dementia and more.

On November 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a new comprehensive tobacco control strategic action plan, “Ending the Tobacco Epidemic” that includes proposed new bolder health warnings on cigarette packages and advertisements.  These actions are part of a broader strategy that will help tobacco users quit and prevent children from starting.  To learn more about this plan, please visit http://www.hhs.gov/tobaccocontrol/index.html

Quitting smoking has health benefits – no matter what your age.  Today marks the 35th Great American Smokeout – a day when smokers around the country are encouraged to quit smoking or to make a plan to quit.  If you’re a smoker with Medicare and want to kick the habit, Medicare can help.  For more information, please visit http://www.medicare.gov/navigation/manage-your-health/preventive-services/smoking-cessation.aspx.  Any smoker covered by Medicare can receive tobacco cessation counseling from a qualified physician or other Medicare-recognized practitioner who can work with them to help him or her stop using tobacco.  And thanks to the Affordable Care Act, as of January 1, 2011, these services will be available at no cost to people with Medicare.

For more resources and support related to quitting smoking, visit www.smokefree.govor call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.    

Social Security Inside Out

"Updated with 2010 Information"

Expert Guide to Social Security Benefits

http://www.socialsecurityinsideout.com/

WASHINGTON – Raising the retirement age for Social Security would disproportionately hurt low-income workers and minorities, and increase disability claims by older people unable to work, government auditors told Congress.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703374304575622480028578008.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

There are currently more than 25 million veterans alive in the United States and more than 9 million surviving spouses of veterans currently living in the United States.

Many of these veterans and surviving spouses are receiving long term care or will need some type of long term care in the near future, and there are funds available from the Veterans Administration ("VA") to help pay for that care. Unfortunately, many of those who are eligible have no idea that any type of benefits exist for them or that an attorney can help them become eligible.

There are three types of benefits available that provide a monthly cash payment to veterans who have long term health care needs. Read the Maine Center for Elder Law newsletter to learn about what benefits are available and who qualifies.

Full article: http://mainecenterforelderlaw.com/global_pictures/ElderCounselor,%20Volume%201,%20Issue%203.pdf

Portland, Maine — Researchers at the USM Muskie School have received a two-year grant from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to develop and test patient safety practices that improve communication and information flow during transitions of patients and care between nursing facilities, emergency medical services and critical access hospitals.

Hands-off and care transition errors are among the most common and consequential errors in health care. Transfers between nursing homes and hospitals present significant challenges because they involve multiple settings, many different health care providers and exchange of patient care information.

 “The quality of care during the transfer can be affected by missing or inaccurate information, which can then snowball into other problems,” said Judy Tupper, a project director at the Muskie School. “This is particularly important for Maine as an older, rural state. Rural elders are more likely to reside in nursing facilities and face more frequent transfers to the hospital.”

Full story:  http://blogs.usm.maine.edu/publicaffairs/archives/5206

Starting in 2014, the new health care law will require participating states to cover everyone earning 133 percent of the poverty level or less through Medicaid. It is estimated that this will bring 16 million to 23 million more people into Medicaid. The federal government will pick up nearly all the cost of these newly eligible beneficiaries, starting at 100 percent from 2014 to 2016 and gradually decreasing its share to 90 percent from 2020 onwards.

The impact of this mandate could vary considerably. States such as Texas and Alabama that have had narrow eligibility rules will add far more people to their rolls. But they will also get a lot more federal dollars to cover the extra cost. States such as Massachusetts and New York, whose current rules are more expansive, may see fewer new enrollees, but initially they'll get less federal help to cover them.

Such states could also see savings because many people they have been helping will be eligible for federal subsidies to buy insurance on state-based exchanges.

So what's the bottom line? Estimates vary widely.

Read the whole story:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101804768.html?hpid=sec-health

http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/12/v-print/2550299/sentence-for-embezzling-millions.html

The Kaiser Family Foundation provides a fact sheet about the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Part D. The updated fact sheet for 2011 is available here, http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/7044-11.pdf.

More than half of all Medicare beneficiaries (60 percent or 27.7 million) are enrolled in Medicare Part D plans as of February 2010, according to the fact sheet.

In addition, average monthly premiums in the popular Medicare Advantage program will drop by 45 cents, or slightly more than 1%, following negotiations between the government and private insurers. This year, premiums rose by about 15%.

Full story: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-09-21-medicare_N.htm