August 2008

• Click here to read "Watchdog group says Medicare overpaying nursing homes by $1.5 billion", an August 30 article form the Naples Daily News.  The article describes planned overpayments to nursing homes in 2009, and quotes Center attorney Toby Edelman, who says "The windfall to skilled nursing facilities comes with no strings attached and there is no reason to believe this windfall will help improve the quality of care or quality of life for nursing home residents."
   

• Click here to read "Nursing Home Industry To Receive $1.5 Billion Overpayment In 2009" by Center attorney Toby Edelman.  The August 29 piece appearing from Medical News today outlines overpayments that the Medicare agency will knowingly pay skilled nursing facilities in 2009.
   

• Click here to read "Nursing Homes to Get Sprinklers `Years' Late" an August 26 article from Bloomberg News.  The article quotes Center attorney Toby Edelman on the need to continue use of other devices even after sprinklers are finally installed in facilities, years later than they should have been.  "Smoke alarms and sprinklers serve different purposes,'' said Ms. Edelman, "You want redundant protections.''
   

• Click here to read a copy of "Many Struggling With Health Plans" an August 24 letter to the editor of the Hartford Courant by Center Communications Coordinator Matthew Shepard.  The letter is in response to a piece by a beneficiary who was trapped in her private Medicare plan, and offers solutions to her problem.
   

• Click here to read "New Rules Regarding final Days" a McClatchey Newspapers article by Mark Agee that appeared in the Hartford Courant on August 18, as well as in other papers (See August 1 Fort Worth Star Telegram as "Hospice patients have more control of their treatment under new regulations).  Center attorney Terry Berthelot is quoted on the improvements for hospice patients made by the first updates to the hospice regulations in 25 years, saying "These are simple changes that will make a big difference to patients at the end of their lives... Historically, doctors have been encouraged to back away from patients when they enter hospice, but this keeps familiar people involved," she said. "Plus, it's nice to have someone there who is not

  concerned with the hospice's bottom line."
   

• Click here to read "Conn. Relying on Nursing Home Chains", an Associated Press article that appeared in the Hartford Courant and other papers on August 17.  Center attorney Toby Edelman is quoted on the effect that chains have on quality of care, saying "Ownership is certainly a factor in quality of

  care... They send a lot of money to their corporate offices... There can be a lot

  of distance between the owners and the facilities themselves. They're not on the ground."
   

• Click here to read "Medicare premiums to rise for drug plans", a South Florida Sun-Sentinel article by Bob LaMendola from August 15.  In the article, Center attorney Vicki Gottlich discusses the rise in Part D premiums and other costs that don't get as much attention, saying "We still don't know how much more people are going to pay for their drugs... Even if the premium in the plan isn't going up and people are happy with everything, they should look at all the plans and see which one is best for them."

July 2008

• Click here to read "Serious violations at homes spike" and "Fines sometimes go unpaid by nursing home" articles from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (from July 26 and 27, respectively). One article focuses on violations in nursing homes that result in injuries and risks to seniors across Wisconsin.  Toby Edelman comments on fines for nursing homes with violations, saying, "The fines are so trivial now in amount compared to the harm that has been done to the resident. It is just the cost of doing business for the industry." The other article focuses on how these fines often go unpaid. Edelman says that even when fines are levied, collection systems don’t seem to work. "The fines get proposed and reduced and then they don’t get paid and go uncollected."  The July 26 article also appeared on RedOrbit.com.
   
• Click here to read "Thousands Lose Coverage When Program Dropped" a Mobile Register article from July 9th.  The piece summarizes the local effects of Congress’ neglect to re-authorize the "Qualifying Individual Program" due to a tight Medicaid budget. Almost 16,000 Alabamians are being dropped from the program and will now have to pay their own premiums. The article quotes Center for Medicare Advocacy senior policy attorney, Patricia Nemore, who said Congress has always reauthorized the program in the past.  "It's obviously popular. Nobody wants to be the one who cuts this program out."
   
• Click here to read "Nursing homes will now be rated," from the July 8 Pottstown Mercury.  The article focuses on the new rating system for nursing homes put forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that will allow potential residents and their families to comparison shop for the best home. The article cites a senior staff attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy who "warns consumers that this rating system is likely to be flawed if CMS relies on inspections and quality measures reported by the nursing homes themselves as complete data."
   
• Click here to read "Medicare Mess" from the July 4 Virginian-Pilot. The article highlights the resistance many Medicare beneficiaries experience when trying to report billing mistakes. Often interpreted as reluctance on Medicare’s part, it can be difficult to navigate through the network of Medicare representatives one can reach through 1-800-MEDICARE. The article quotes Judith Stein who says that this experience is "classic" and that she hears "all the time from people who have called the 1-800-MEDICARE number and are quite unsatisfied with the results."
   
• Click here to read "Retire Smart" a Columbus Dispatch article from July 1 which lists health insurance possibilities for individuals in early retirement, including the continued coverage guaranteed by COBRA, individual policies, Medicaid, and Veterans Affairs. The article says that Medicare -- a proven, efficient way to deliver health-care services -- may be expanding its eligibility standards, which might help ease the program’s solvency issues. Furthermore, Vicki Gottlich says, "It would take care of a large number of uninsured people."

June 2008

• Click here to access "Settlement to Ease Drug Costs for Some on Medicare" by Robert Pear.  This New York Times article from June 19 discusses the recent settlement filing in the Center for Medicare Advocacy's Situ v. Leavitt lawsuit regarding dual eligibles' treatment under Medicare Part D.  the article quotes Center attorney Gill Deford, who says the settlement will "help hundreds of thousands of people a year get their prescription drugs more quickly, at nominal cost."

   

  The settlement filing was also reported by United Press International, the Hill, Medical News today, Long term Living Magazine, the Wichita Eagle, MedGuru (india), RedOrbit News, the Naples News, the Post Chronicle, lawyers and Settlements, Health News, Amed News and others.

   

• Click here to read "U.S. Preps Nursing-Home Rating System", a June 19 article from the Wall Street Journal.   The article details the new 5-star rating system for skilled nursing facilities that the Bush administration has proposed to improve the quality of care in those facilities.  The article quotes Center attorney Toby Edelman, who expresses doubts about the system, saying several criteria "are self-reported by nursing facilities and are inaccurate." "Too often, nursing facilities report that residents are doing much better than they really are and that they have more staff than they really have," [s]he said. "Relying on nursing homes to describe accurately how well they are doing -- and reporting that information as fact -- just doesn't make sense."
  
  Ms. Edelman was also quoted on this issue in the Springfield News-Leader, , the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, Medical News today, and Elder Law Answers.
   

• Click here to read "Seniors, be wary of fraud", a June 23 article form the Greenwich Post.  The article discusses a Center client who was the target of Medicare Part D phone scam and urges caution for seniors. 
   

• Click here to read "Seniors be wary of fraud" a June 19 Greenwich Post article that reminds seniors to be on the lookout for identity theft. The piece describes a fraudulent call in which a client of the Center for Medicare Advocacy was told that all Medicare beneficiaries were required by law to make a one-time $374 payment in order to have prescription drug coverage.
   

• Click here to read "Washington state gives inspectors more tools, including power to halt nursing home's admissions to get problems fixed" a June 7 article from the Press Enterprise detailing Washington state's more stringent inspection system.  Center attorney Toby Edelman is quoted as saying "Most states defend the worst of the worst of their nursing homes," said Toby Edelman, senior policy lawyer at Washington, D.C.'s Center for Medicare Advocacy Inc., a consumer organization. "Washington has tough regulations and isn't afraid to use them."
   

• Click here to read "Medicare premiums for drugs up 16%" an article from the June 7 Florida Times-Union. The piece describes new data showing that most seniors in Medicare's prescription program are paying considerably higher monthly premiums for coverage this year.  The article cites the Center for Medicare Advocacy as a resource for Medicare beneficiaries, saying, "Compare options: The Center for Medicare Advocacy states that all plans have different costs and benefits from year to year, so it is wise for consumers to compare options."
   

• Click here to read "Casualties of Care" a June 7 article from the Press Enterprise explaining that many nursing home patients and family members say their complaints about caregivers are dismissed with little explanation or result in minimal punishment.  The article cites Center attorney Toby Edelman, who thinks that some inspectors are poorly trained and won't substantiate an offense unless they witness it.

   

• Click here to read "Nursing home operators lose 93% of appeals: report", an article regarding the Center for Medicare Advocacy's recently released review of nursing home decisions made in 2007 by the Department of Health and Human Services' Departmental Appeals Board (DAB).  Center attorney Toby Edelman is quoted as saying "The study shows not only that problems in care are serious and that penalties are modest, but also that facilities choose to appeal these enforcement actions throughout he administrative appeals process. Almost always the facilities lose their cases."
   

• Click here to read "Center for Medicare Advocacy Report Says HHS Weak on Enforcing Nursing Home Errors", another take on the Center's report, which focuses on the mild penalties and the need for beneficiary awareness.   Ms. Edelman is quoted as saying "Despite the serious deficiencies reflected by these cases, the federal enforcement response is usually modest, at best ... The federal government imposes only minor fines for these deficiencies."
  
  The Center's report is also cited in Nursing Homes Long term Care Management.

   

May 2008

• Click here to read "Medicare supplier changes might confuse seniors" a May 23 article from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.  According to the article, A Medicare plan to slash about 30 percent off the price of home medical goods — including oxygen, diabetes supplies and walkers — also may baffle some seniors and temporarily disrupt their care.  Center for Medicare Advocacy attorney Alfred Chiplin is quoted as saying "There will be some chaos initially...The people who use these items are often in crisis. They don't need chaos."  He goes on to say that the new system can work — if managed well.  "This is Medicare," he said, "people need to watch it carefully."
   
• Click here to read "Health Premiums Rising For Seniors With Genworth Policies" a May 14 article from the Hartford Courant.  According to the article, some Medicare beneficiaries with Genworth policies will see their premiums rise by 30%. Judith Stein is quoted as saying that Genworth’s repeated increases "will price many older and disabled people out of the Medigap market and into private Medicare Advantage plans without them necessarily knowing whether those plans will meet their needs."
   
• Click here to read "Oregon docs shun Medicare patients" a May 4 article from the Sunday Oregonian.  According to the article, federal regulations base Medicare reimbursement on historical costs. Because Oregon has kept its health care costs relatively low, Medicare provides less money, and fewer Oregon physicians are accepting Medicare. The problem could be compounded in July, when a nationwide cut in Medicare funding is scheduled to kick in. "If the payment reduction goes through, that will be a huge problem nationally," said Judith Stein, executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy.
   
• Click here to read "States Look to Rein In Private Medicare Plans" a May 5 article from the New York Times. According to the article, state officials will soon ask Congress for more power to regulate the marketing of private Medicare insurance plans to older Americans because they are still receiving complaints of high-pressure sales tactics that have led some beneficiaries to sign up for unsuitable policies.  Consumer groups support the request. "It's a good idea," said Vicki Gottlich, a lawyer at the Center for Medicare Advocacy. The piece was picked up by other outlets, as well.

April 2008

• Click here to read "Seniors Legal Line" a column from the April 24 Pine Journal (a weekly Minnesota-based newspaper). The piece focuses on the fact that Medicare does not pay for long-term care in a nursing home. Typically, Medicare only pays for a short period of time, after which the nursing home resident pays or is eligible for Medical Assistance. The piece cites the Center for Medicare Advocacy to explain skilled nursing and skilled rehabilitation services.

   

• Click here to read "Sharing the Medicare Burden" a letter to the editor that appeared in the Washington Times on April 28.  The letter, by Michael Rubin of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, says that only by investing in each other can we become a society that protects and cares for those who have come before us.  He says that Medicare beneficiaries have always shared part of the financial burden for health care, as required by the law, contrary to some misconceptions -- including those of the HHS Secretary’s son. 
   

• Click here to read "Gray Matters: President George W. Bush Wants to Cut Medicare", an article by Saul Friedman that appeared in Newsday on April 26.  The piece describes the insidiousness of the Medicare act of 2003, and how administration officials used it to try to dismantle the traditional Medicare program.  The Center for Medicare Advocacy's executive director, Judith Stein, is quoted throughout, defending traditional Medicare and explaining the damage recent legislation has done.
   

• Click here to read "Medicare Patients Cut Back on Prescriptions" a WebMD article. The article says a new study shows that Medicare beneficiaries skip their medications to save money, despite being covered by the program's Part D prescription drug plan.  Researchers blame Part D's benefit structure, which requires patients to share some of the cost of their drugs with the government. Judith Stein says organizations like the Center for Medicare Advocacy, that are trying to educate seniors on Part D are stymied by the plan's complexity. "Really using and understanding Part D is beyond the resources of the few organizations that exist to teach and the tens of millions of beneficiaries who use it," Stein says.
   

• Click here to read "Medicare Bill A Boost For All" a letter to the editor from Judith Stein, executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, that appeared in the Hartford Courant on April 4.  Stein states that Rep. Linda Schofield's bill to increase Medicare Savings Program eligibility is good for people and the state's finances. According to Stein, the bill would allow more low-income people to get help paying for their medications and for Medicare premiums and co-insurance, while also obtaining federal funds to help Connecticut meet these needs.

March 2008

February 2008

January 2008

• Click here to read "Mayo in Rochester unlikely to limit Medicare patients" an article that appeared in the Post Bulletin (of Rochester, Minnesota) on January 25.  According to the article, the Mayo Clinic in Arizona has moved to limit care for Medicare patients, leading to worries that other major health providers could follow suit.  Mayo in Arizona also stopped taking new Medicare Advantage Plan patients January 1, although it will continue seeing established MAP patients. The article cites Vicki Gottlich of the Center for Medicare Advocacy saying that many major medical systems, including Johns Hopkins and Sloan Kettering either limit patients in Medicare Advantage plans or do not accept them at all.
   

• Click here to read "Medicare: Understand your options" an article that appeared in the Mobile Register on January 7. The piece describes how Medicare beneficiaries should learn as much as possible about the different plan options before making a commitment. The piece says that according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy, those enrolled in private fee-for-service plans have sometimes faced difficulties in finding doctors who would treat them.
   

• CMA In The News 2007

• CMA In The News 2006

• CMA In The News 2005

• CMA In The News 2004

• CMA In The News 2003