According to the Johnston Sun Rise, the event “aimed to give Medicare recipients an opportunity to learn about the common scams criminals use to obtain personal information, which often leads to identify theft.”
Among the tips shared at the event:
Medicare will never call you and ask for personal information over the phone, or send their officials to your door unannounced. Don’t ever disclose personal information over the phone – just hang up if someone tries to pressure you.
Treat your Medicare and Social Security cards as you would your credit card – keep your numbers private, and carry them only when needed. Only show them to your healthcare providers.
Always check your monthly Medicare statements for accuracy. Report any concerns immediately.
With almost 200,000 Medicare recipients in Rhode Island, these are messages that should be repeated widely and often.
Comments Off on RI Researcher Finds Only 1 in 3 Medicare Patients Die At Home
New research shows that one in three elderly Americans on Medicare passes away at home. This is not encouraging news, given that most seniors would prefer to die at home or the home of a loved one. But there is a positive development: the number of Medicare patients who died in hospital decreased from 32.6 percent in 2000 to 24.5 percent in 2009.
The results of a study led by Brown University professor Dr. Joan Teno were recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and are both encouraging and discouraging. For example, the report stated that hospice use increased greatly from 2000 to 2009. On the downside, though, “In 2000, a Medicare patient who died was moved an average of two times in the last 90 days of life; by 2009, that average increased to three times.”
Dr. Teno “has devoted her career to understanding how to measure and improve the quality of frail, older and dying persons. She has led a statewide effort to improve pain management in nursing homes, for which she has received an award from the American Cancer Society.”
Comments Off on Rhode Island Strengthens Collection Efforts in Its Estate Recovery Program
New regulations regarding the estates of deceased Medicaid recipients make it even more important that clients do advance planning in order to minimize the impact of such estate recovery on their estate plans.
In an effort to strengthen collection efforts in its “estate recovery” program, the Rhode Island Office of Health and Human Services (OHHS) has recently finalized regulations prompted by a mandate contained in the FY 2013 budget enacted by the Rhode Island General Assembly in its last session.
OHHS was commendably inclusive its rule making process, involving meetings with stakeholders over the spring and summer of 2013 in which I was an active participant. The General Assembly’s action, and OHHS’ finalization of regulations make it clear that the State of Rhode Island is serious about recovering from the assets of deceased Medicaid recipients. See this notice from OHHS for more details.
Comments Off on Nursing Home Residents May Be Able to Retain Skilled Services Medicaid Benefits
As a result of a proposed settlement agreement reached in litigation, there appears to be clarification of the “improvement standard” as a prerequisite to a nursing home resident continuing to receive Medicare skilled nursing home benefits.
Once implemented, this will enable nursing home residents who have been discharged from a hospital and told that they can no longer receive Medicare benefits to continue to do so provided that they need skilled services, even to maintain level of functioning. According to Marsha Greenfield of LeadingAge,
“The settlement is expected to be approved by the court within the next few months, after a hearing to ensure that the settlement is fair to the plaintiffs. The final settlement is expected to certify a nationwide class of beneficiaries, estimated at 10,000, whose skilled nursing or home health services claims were denied by Medicare prior to Jan. 18, 2011, the filing date for the lawsuit.”