Globe Syndicate
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release
The
by Carol Abaya, M.A.
MEDICARE AND MEDICAID ALERTS
Medicare Part D (Drug) Alert: Confusion continues as the sign-up deadline
for Medicare Part D (drug plan) nears (May 15).
The
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is hosting weekly conference
calls, so participants and their families can get accurate information directly
related to their specific case.
The
calls are being taken on Tuesdays from
My own
advice: if you can’t check out the
financial stability of the insurance company offering the drug plan and its
payment history, stay away. The federal
plan offers a more secure plan, even though there is that doughnut in payment
schedule.
Medicaid Alert: The federal
government continues to crack down on asset transfer in for a person order to
qualify for Medicaid services. The look
back period is now five years, and certain annuities are now included in
asset/income calculations. Changes have
also been made in relation to home ownership, with new restrictions if the home
equity is $500,000 or more.
Question: We had to place
my mother, 89, in a nursing home. It
broke my heart to do so. In the three
months she has been there, she has fallen three times. In the last fall she broke her arm. We're paying a lot of money for her
care. Should we sue the home for
negligence?
Answer: NO! No one or facility can guarantee a patient
will never fall down. There are some
people, especially those with a moderate or severe level of dementia or
Alzheimer’s, who have an inherent higher natural risk.
A new
tool to determine the likelihood of a person falling is the Reality
Comprehension Clock Test. This test’s
for visual-spatial awareness, which is the ability to assess the distance
between and the relationship to various objects and one’s self.
Place a
clock in front of your mother and ask her to draw it. The amount of distortion will tell you the
level of her visual perception and is a problem indicator.
Her
falls may also be the result of poor eyesight and being in a new, unfamiliar
place.
Question: My father, 67,
has an ulcer and has reacted badly to several different medicines. Even the doctor is having a hard time finding
a medicine that will help him and not give him the bad reactions. Why can’t the doctor really help? Should we get another doctor?
Answer: I am not doctor. But I think getting another doctor may not
guarantee any better results. Your
father’s problem is not uncommon. I
don’t want to scare you, but according to the American Medical Association,
100,000 die each year as a result of serious adverse drug reactions.
Also, according to the AMA, each person has a different ability to metabolize drugs. So the way your father’s body absorbs, distributes and metabolizes the medicines may be the culprit. Different genes apparently determine the ability to process -- or not -- drugs. Research is now more aggressively focusing on genes and drug reactions.
Are you juggling doing errands for your aging parents, your children, yourself and working at the same time? Are you tired, stressed out and upset that your once vibrant parent is now frail and needy?
Do you feel alone? Rest assured you are not alone! The Sandwich Generation is dedicated to the 50 million Americans who may have elder/parent care concerns and/or responsibilities.
* * *
Do
you have a question? Send it in. Although letters cannot be answered
individually, appropriate letters will be answered in this column whenever
possible. Letters may be edited. Send letters to Ms. Carol Abaya,
mail direct to her at
Carol Abaya is an international-award-winning journalist and creator of the unique magazine The Sandwich Generation: You & Your Aging Parents.
NOTES TO EDITORS: text = 573 words; other material = 160 words
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