Category: What’s Buzzing

If your income is low and you need health insurance, the state you live in matters

A recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation illustrates just how important it can be for people with low incomes who need health insurance to live in a state that has expanded eligibility for Medicaid. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 26 states and the District of Columbia now allow anyone with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level ($27,000 for a family of three) to enroll in Medicaid. Before 2014, states had restricted Medicaid eligibility to different categories of individuals, primarily children, older adults, people with disabilities; adults without dependent children generally could not qualify for Medicaid.

Twenty-four states have chosen not to expand eligibility for Medicaid. As a result, almost five million uninsured adults have too high an income to qualify for Medicaid, even though their income is below the federal poverty level, and too low an income to qualify for a subsidy in their state’s health insurance exchange. For example, to qualify for Medicaid as an adult in Alabama, your income cannot be more than 16 percent of the federal poverty level, $3,221. In Indiana and Missouri, your income cannot be more than 24 percent of FPL, about $4,600.

To learn which states have not expanded eligibility for Medicaid, click here.

August 20, 2014
Should you pay more for Medicare than you do now?

Raising Medicare premiums will save the government money but could hurt millions of people with Medicare.
Lawmakers are looking for ways to cut down government spending on Medicare. Many of them are proposing that more people with Medicare pay a higher monthly premium. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, if federal law changes, many people with Medicare will pay a lot more each month for their health care.

Today, only a small percentage of people with Medicare pay higher premiums for their medical care (5 percent) and for their drug coverage (4 percent). That’s because right now, only people who earn $85,000 or more and couples who earn $170,000 or more pay higher premiums. Today, you might be surprised to know that half of all people with Medicare have incomes below $23,500 and one in four have incomes below $14,400.

If the new proposals became law, one in four people with Medicare (25 percent) would pay higher premiums for their medical care by 2036, starting at incomes of $45,600 for individuals and $91,300 for couples. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this change would cut federal spending by $56.3 billion dollars in the next ten years starting in 2014.

Asking middle-class Americans to pay more for Medicare than they do today may mean forcing them to go without needed care. People with incomes as low as $45,600 are at risk of not being able to pay these higher premiums, especially if they must spend a lot on health care that Medicare does not cover. Even today, if they have high health care costs or other costly needs, they often struggle to afford care that Medicare does not cover.

Click here to read the full article.

August 15, 2014
Happy 79th birthday, Social Security!
Today is Social Security’s 79th birthday. Let’s take a moment to reflect on its importance. Most Americans rely on Social Security for a large part of their income.
- People over 65 rely on Social Security for an average of two-thirds of their income.
- One in three people over 65 receive at least 90 percent of their income from Social Security.
- About 23 percent of White Americans over 65 rely exclusively on Social Security for their income, and approximately 35 percent of them rely on Social Security for 90 percent of their income. A significantly higher percentage of Asians (~32 percent), Blacks (~37 percent) and Hispanics (~42 percent) rely exclusively on Social Security for their income.
- Social Security income kept more than 15 million older adults from living below the poverty level in 2012.
- People over 65 receive an average of $1300 a month from Social Security.
- Relative to the other 33 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Social Security benefits are modest at best. The United States ranks 31st, behind the Slovak Republic, Estonia, Chile and Korea, in the income security we provide retirees.
To learn more about the critical role Social Security plays, check-out Nancy Altman and Eric Kingson’s recent article titled, “Happy Birthday Social Security: Time to Expand Your Protections.” Nancy and Eric are co-founders of Social Security Works.

Get Engaged
August 14, 2014
Medicare outpatient hospital care may not be what you think it is

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, andnews about the economy

For financial reasons, hospitals around the country are increasingly classifying overnight hospital stays for people with Medicare—even stays that last more than three days—as outpatient visits. The problem is that unless the hospital treats you as a hospital inpatient, Medicare will not cover your skilled nursing facility care post-hospitalization. And, the hospital often has the discretion to classify even lengthy stays as Medicare outpatient hospital care.

August 12, 2014
New AARP Polls Reveal High Anxiety Among Boomers About Retirement Security

New AARP polls in Arkansas, Iowa and North Carolina show high anxiety about retirement security among Americans 50 and older. According to AARP, boomers and older adults are looking for candidates in the November election to address health and financial security issues.

Older Democrats and Republicans alike feel anxiety about their inability to cover health and financial needs in retirement, including paying for their own or a spouse’s care that Medicare does not pay for.

Of Iowans polled, 78 percent said that they opposed candidates who support cuts to Social Security to reduce the deficit, and 73 percent want Medicare to reduce drug costs. Poll results were similar in Arkansas and North Carolina, where respectively 74 and 76 percent said they opposed candidates who support cuts to Social Security to reduce the deficit.

Click here to take action to protect and expand Social Security!

August 12, 2014
The kiosk that takes your blood pressure is a tool to make money off of your personal data

Have you ever checked your weight or blood pressure at a health-screening kiosk? These kiosks are popping up at major supermarkets and mega retail stores. What you might not realize is that these kiosks are designed to collect lots of your personal information. It’s valuable to health insurers and other health care companies.

According to Kaiser Health News, SoloHealth owns these machines and will have 5000 of them in stores by the end of this year. They take the names, email addresses and phone numbers of the people who use their kiosks and sell them to companies who want to market to you. They also can sell your weight, age, and blood pressure information.If you’re not looking to gift your personal information to SoloHealth, it’s best to keep in mind that there’s no such thing as a free health kiosk screening. For more information, click here.

August 12, 2014
Doormen could be your best bet for preventing elder abuse

Elder abuse is a growing problem, and one that often goes unreported. Thankfully, some doormen are being trained to identify signs of elder abuse.

August 5, 2014
State-by-state report card on America’s health care system

To learn more from the American College of Emergency Physicians about your state’s rankings on access to emergency care, quality and patient safety, medical liability, public health and disaster preparedness, click here: http://www.emreportcard.org

August 5, 2014
People with Medicare are paying less for their drugs

People with Medicare are paying less for their drugs. The US Department of Health and Human Services just reported $11.5 billion dollars in prescription drug savings for 8.2 million older adults and people with disabilities since 2010. Sylvia Burwell, HHS Secretary, credits the Affordable Care Act for these savings. People with Medicare are saving more and more on their prescription drugs since passage of the ACA. The average savings is $1407 as a result of drug discounts for people without coverage in the Part D prescription drug “donut hole” and drug rebates. For a state by state breakdown of savings, click here.

Overall, drug savings are up $4.5 billion since last year. Drug savings will continue to grow over the next six years until the donut hole closes in 2020.

July 31, 2014
Alzheimer’s Disease more prevalent among women and Hispanics

A 2014 Alzheimer’s Association report finds that about two out of three people with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, are women. In fact one out of six women over 60 get Alzheimer’s disease as compared to one out of eleven men. About five million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, with the vast majority 75 and older.While more white Americans than African Americans and Hispanics have Alzheimer’s disease, older Hispanics and African Americans are more likely to have Alzheimer’s disease than white Americans. Older African Americans are almost twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s than older white Americans, and older Hispanics are almost three times as likely to have Alzheimer’s than white Americans.

Alzheimer’s disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the fifth leading cause of death among older adults.

July 31, 2014