Americas News Online

Alabama Medicare Supplemental Insurance: A Necessary Aid For Seniors

Audrey Howard — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:01:07 +0000

In Alabama, you have two different options for Medicare. You may enroll in an Alabama Supplement Plan or a Medicare Advantage plan. Supplement plans, or Medigap, help to cover Part A and Part B services that Original Medicare does not cover. Plans are standardized by Medicare but are provided to you by private health insurance carriers. In order to receive Medicare Supplement benefits, you must be eligible for Medicare and enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B.

Blue Cross Blue Shield

Earlier this year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama reduced its fee schedule for home medical equipment by an average of 15% to 20%. “We’re just having to look at every product to see if it’s something that we can accept for Blue Cross,” said Leigh Ann Matthews, a manager at Complete Care in Fort Payne. BCBS also dropped reimbursement for TENS units completely.

Uninsured Alabamians

The amount of uninsured Alabamians has risen dramatically due to the struggling economy and the cost of care. And when sickness hits, it’s those people who turn to hospitals or specialists to get the care they need, rather than a primary care physician. The new health-care reform law stresses the importance of acting early as opposed to waiting until serious care is required.

Expansion Of Medicare

The expansion of Medicare and the re-adjustment of health insurance policies put strain on an already stressed industry. “It’s a half million more people that need a doctor and we don’t have enough primary care physicians,” said Selman. The new law offers incentive for the growth of primary care by offering higher payments for Medicare and Medicaid patients and new payment models to reward for value rather than volume.

Health Care Reform Law

“The health-care reform law is expected to take the traffic out of the emergency room and into places like Lister Hill, a federally qualified health-care center that offers affordable health-care. Here at Lister Hill, they see hundreds of patients a day.”

Press Secretary Gibbs Stands Behind His Man: Being Politically Correct

Susan Thompson — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:58:17 +0000

Good afternoon. Let’s — let me do a quick readout from the President’s Afghanistan meeting — Pakistan meeting this morning. President Obama met for nearly two hours with his national security team on Afghanistan and Pakistan. At the beginning of the meeting, President Obama and Secretary Clinton reaffirmed the great debt that the administration…

Defending His Boss

Mr. Gibbs added: “I think he has worked extremely hard, and I think he would tell you that even when, in the midst of the tax agreement and the start deal and the other things that accumulate, even where he once might have found some comfort in that, he’s pushed it away.”

National Incident Command

The powers vested in me are not the same as those at the National Incident Command. I’m going to let them make the final announcements on that. I think what Admiral Allen might have — I did not see what he specifically said that you just talked about. There has been — and I said this earlier — at each of the big points along the way, before different operations — static kill, top kill, the sealing cap, what have you — have taken place, there has been a robust and vigorous discussion with the scientific team, largely headed by Secretary Chu, to evaluate each of the steps that we’re taking. Because obviously doing no harm to the situation that we have now is tremendously important. So I know that there were meetings going on today to evaluate a whole range of scientific data around the well, the integrity of the well, and a whole host of features.

National Security

“This is a new low in putting political stunts ahead of our national security, and it is exactly the kind of Washington game-playing that the American people are sick of,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

Key To Arthritis Pain Relief: Diagnose Early And Start Treating ASAP

Susan Thompson — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:32:26 +0000

Getting an evaluation by a rheumatologist within the first few weeks after symptoms appear gives the best outcome of avoiding progression to rheumatoid arthritis and restoring functioning according to the article which was written by Dr. Edith Villeneuve and associates at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom.

Treatment Start Early

It is vital that treatments start early before any permanent damage can occur. There are effective treatments for inflammation and joint pain however, once structural damage occurs nothing can still be done. If treatment is not sought and is put off, combined effects of untreated inflammation on functioning can only be partly restored after treatments.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA), also called osteoarthroses or degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis. OA is a chronic condition characterized by the breakdown of the joint’s cartilage. The breakdown of cartilage causes the bones to rub against each other, causing stiffness, pain and loss of movement in the joint.

Homeopathic Treatment

Homeopathic remedies can provide immediate relief of arthritis pain and joint stiffness. The remedies are dependent upon the symptoms so seeking advice of a qualified homeopathic practitioner or herbalist is advised.

Prescriptions

Arthritis medications are among the most highly prescribed drugs in the world. Although they may be effective at controlling symptoms, they have considerable side effects.

Over The Counter Drugs

The most commonly used over-the-counter-drugs, called NSAIDs, examples of which include Advil, Motrin, Aleve and aspirin, have serious side effects. According to the CDC, NSAID’s account for an estimated 7,600 deaths and 76,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. every year.

Many Forms Of Arthritis

Dr Mehfooz Alam, who too is a rhematologist consultant, briefed the participants that all kinds of arthritis were not associated with RA factors. There are many form of arthritis that are associated with backache, skin manifestations and infections, he added. Joint diseases can occur in children as well and arthritis in cases is not always a chronic disease, some can have only attack and subside forever, he elaborated.

Nutrition

Nutrition is another vital tool in fighting arthritis. Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths about what to eat, and what not to eat, for arthritis. I’ll try to dispel some of these and present the findings.

Oregon’s Unemployment Is A Serious Issue: Can Cuts Bring Money Back In

Sara Fernandez — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:13:49 +0000

Overall the unemployment rate at 10.6 percent signals the fact economic recovery is in the process since the lowest numbers appear when that’s actually happening. University of Oregon economist, Tim Duy and econmist, Bill Conerly say it’s too early to get excited about Oregon’s unemployment rate lowering just yet since it can take several years to recover, but all of this is a sign that things are looking up in spite of the discouraging number.

Not Going For Obama’s Tax Cut Deal

Oregon congressmen won’t fall into the “trap” they believe has been set by Senate Republicans over tax cuts as a result of compromising on the unemployment 2010 extension with President Obama. Three Oregon representatives aren’t going for President Obama’s tax cuts deal that were a condition set by Republicans in order to agree on the 2010 unemployment extension and they’re speaking up.

Better Economy

When Pam Silbernagel of the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments addressed members of the Willamette Valley regional session, she asked who in the room thought Oregon’s economy would be better in three years. After looking around at representatives for Oregon’s higher education facilities, entrepreneurs, and state representatives, a majority of the room raised their hands high.

Fiscal Decline

Until Oregon’s politicians get serious about cutting 10,000 public employee jobs, freezing wages (including step increases), forcing public employees to pay for a portion of their healthcare insurance and eliminating the “defined benefits” retirement plan (PERS), Oregon state government’s fiscal decline will continue unabated. Until Oregon’s politicians get serious about a tax structure that discourages the attraction, growth and retention of business, Oregon’s economic decline will continue. Until Oregon’s politicians begin to care more about people and less about spotted owls, salmon and public employee unions, Oregon will continue to trail the nation in terms of unemployment and income per capita. Until Oregon’s politicians begin to demand accountability along with expenditures, Oregonians will see the continuing decline of school performance and increase in wasted boondoggles similar to the Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network (OWIN) and Portland’s famed water bureau billing system.

People Are Not Happy And Showing It: Obama Approval Rating Down

Julie Smith — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:06:41 +0000

Much of the slippage in Obama’s approval rating from 42% on Dec. 1 was caused by a drop of nine percentage points among Democrats (82% to 73%). His approval also went down among independents, from 39% to 36%. Just 7% of Republicans approve. His approval was also 39% on Nov. 22.

Government Failures

The figures come as there are widespread assumptions that a string of government failures, including the failure to rein in the economic crisis in the US, the prolonged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the high unemployment rate in the country have largely contributed to the slippage in Obama’s popularity rate.

Rating Down

The poll, taken after Obama announced a compromise plan with Congressional Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans – including the wealthiest, show a loss of support from within his own party. Obama’s approval rating went down nine percentage points among Democrats, from 82 to 73 percent. Among independents, it fell from 39 percent to 36 percent. Only 7 percent of Republicans approve of the President.

Frustration With Tax Deal

Frustration with the tax deal among Democrats in the general population could be a major reason for Americans' historically low approval rating of Congress. That frustration could be opposition to the bill's particulars or frustration with the Democrats in Congress opposing the president's deal. Democrats' approval of Congress is down significantly, to 16% now, from 29% in November. The November poll was conducted after Republicans won control of the House of Representatives for 2011-2012 in the midterm elections, so the drop in this month's numbers is not a reaction to the Democrats' midterm losses.

Falling Short

There are two major places where the Republicans fall short that allow Obama to maintain leads over them. The first is with Democrats- only 71% of them approve of Obama, suggesting the ability for Republicans to make in roads there. And they did show some ability to do that in last month’s election- PPP’s final poll of the Senate race found Rob Portman taking 22% of the Democratic vote. None of these Republicans come anywhere close to matching that though- Huckabee and Palin take 11% of Democrats, Romney gets 10%, and Gingrich only 9%. Obama has some vulnerability with the more conservative wing of his party but at this point none of these GOP hopefuls are really in a position to take advantage of that.

Netflix New Offers: Growing And Offering New Products To Please

Diana Perkins — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:45:59 +0000

“TV content continues to be extremely popular with our members, and we believe that they will be delighted with the expanding list of critically acclaimed and popular TV series available to watch instantly,” said Kelly Merryman, vice president of content acquisition for Netflix.

Added To Standard And Poor’s

Netflix has been added to Standard & Poor’s S&P 500 index, which lists large-cap public companies, mostly from the U.S. Netflix offers subscribers DVD movies through the mail, and is now broadening by being able to download movies from its Web site for users. Netflix’s new prominence depicts how rapidly the 21st Century’s media landscape is changing, seemingly overnight.

Changes

Why the changes? Our selection of TV episodes and movies available to stream has grown dramatically, and as a result most members want us to deliver unlimited TV episodes and movies two ways: streaming instantly over the internet plus DVDs by mail. The price increase will allow us to continue to offer the popular plan choice of unlimited TV episodes and movies streaming instantly along with unlimited DVDs. The new plan, which does not include DVDs, is a great option for the increasing number of members who only want to watch instantly. The $7.99 a month price reflects no DVD shipping costs on this plan.

Growing

Netflix is big. And growing. But to continue that march forward, they’re going to need to keep finding new and better content to offer to consumers. Word now is that the company is willing to pay somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000 per episode of television shows.

More Success

Said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix: ”Netflix has a long and successful history working with Peter Schlessel and Bob Berney, and I have long admired Graham King’s amazing production success with movies like ‘The Departed’ and ‘Blood Diamond,’ which are among the most watched and highly rated movies of all time by Netflix members. We are thrilled to be in business with these proven tastemakers and entertainment business leaders.”

Pulling Out Of Afghanistan: National Security Council Plans Ahead

Diana Perkins — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:44:23 +0000

The training of local security forces is a crucial part of the Obama administration’s plans to withdraw all US troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 and begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in July 2011, a process that is slated to end in 2014. The eventual ability of local forces to maintain security in the two countries is how success or failure to a large extent will be judged.

Robert Gates

Crucial in that review will be the opinion of Robert Gates, the US secretary of defence, who has just returned from a trip to Afghanistan. There he met Afghan leaders, including Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and US military on the ground in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, where he received briefings on operations in eastern and southern Afghanistan.

Ideals Of Peace

“To these aspirants of permanent seat, may I ask: what ideals of peace and security they espouse beyond projecting national power; what is their contribution to peace and security in the immediate neighborhood; what tools they have at their disposal to contribute to international peace and security; and how far they have employed such tools in the service of regional or international security; how they claim to represent a region overriding views of the Member States in the region; and how will they uphold wider interests of Member States they seek to represent in the Security Council?”

Important Message

“It would be an important message to send to take additional measures in the near future because I think that’s a way of correcting any misimpression that the Iranians might have that just talking for the sake of talking is going to, in any way, get them out of the sanctions noose that is tightening around their throats,” according to Gary Samore, the National Security Council coordinator for arms control and nonproliferation.

NATO

In Afghanistan, Nato forces in November began handing over military bases to local forces, a sign, said the US military, of the Afghans’ growing competence. But, such handovers have had a mixed record in Iraq, where the process is well under way, with looting and corruption undermining rank-and-file confidence and ruining once-efficient military bases.

Related posts:
Press Secretary Visits Troops In Afghanistan: Things Are Moving Forward

War On Terror: When Will It Ever End

President Obama to Accept Nobel Prize After Promise of More Troops

Spending Up – Online Sales Are Key: National Retail Federation Speaks

Cindy Lewis — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:48:00 +0000

After strong sales in November, the National Retail Federation raised its holiday season growth forecast on Tuesday to 3.3 percent, up from 2.3 percent. The industry’s leading trade group pointed to economic indicators like stock market gains, income growth and savings being used to bolster consumer spending.

Retail Spending Expected To Be Up

The U.S. industry group is now expecting retail sales in November and December, excluding cars, gasoline and meals at restaurants and online sales, to be up 3.3 percent, compared with its previous forecast of an increase of 2.3 percent.”The start to the holiday season has surpassed all expectations,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. But Shay warned that sustained improvement in retail sales would hinge on unemployment easing.The NRF said retail sales in November were up 6.8 percent compared with the same month last year, with clothing stores leading the way.

Using Smartphones To Buy

As the NRF predicted ahead of the season, shoppers are increasingly turning to their smartphone to help with their purchases. Among those in this group, about one quarter have used their phone to make an actual purchase, the BigResearch study found. However, most of these people are using their phones to locate stores or browse gifts. About one-third, are using their phones to receive text messages with offers, and slightly more than that are using smartphones to read reviews.

Return Policies

Most stores continue to “slice and dice” their return policies, creating complicated rules for different categories of items. Electronic items may be subject to stricter rules than say, clothing. Computers, digital cameras, and opened goods may be subject to limited return rights, restocking fees, shorter return periods, or no refunds at all, in part to discourage buyers from “renting” goods for the weekend and to help thwart return fraud. Online policies may also differ from store rules.

Still Shopping For Christmas

The new poll from the National Retail Federation shows only about 10-percent of Americans have finished buying everything they need for the big day. The average person said they were about halfway through their holiday shopping list, while around 37-million respondents.

Choose Coverage YOU Need For Medicare Supplemental: Don’t Pay Too Much

Audrey Howard — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:38:23 +0000

To stay with an insurer with premiums that are too high to accept a subsidized Medicare beneficiary, low-income seniors are required to come out of pocket or to switch plans. The least expensive response is to switch plans, and according to the report that is what most low-income Medicare beneficiaries do. These new plans could ultimately have different drug formularies which then might require seniors to switch their medications.

Open Enrollment Ends December 31st

The open enrollment period for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program ends on Dec. 31. We’re in the final weeks of the period in which Medicare beneficiaries can change their current drug plans or sign up for the program. This is also a time in which individuals and organizations should be reaching out to those who can benefit from prescription drug coverage and insurance protection and make certain they’re fully informed and taking advantage of what Medicare Part D has to offer.

Do You Take Prescription Meds

Over the last two years, I have enrolled many people in Medicare supplements who took no prescription drugs. These people did not want to pay $30 or more for a Part D plan they didn’t need, but they did not want to face a premium penalty in the future when they need a Part D plan. My suggestion was that they call up UnitedHealthcare and enroll in their Part D plan that cost just over $10 per month. This allowed them to be in the Part D system for a minimal cost. That United plan is being canceled for 2011 and these folks received a letter saying they will be automatically enrolled in the AARP Medicare Rx plan that costs just over $28.60 per month.

Move Out Of Medicare Advantage

A trend among people I am dealing with is to move from Medicare Advantage back to Medicare and purchase a Medicare supplement. When turning 65, many healthy people choose to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan because of the $0 monthly premium and inclusion of Part D in the plan. But I’ve been talking to people, some who are healthy and some who are not, who have decided they want to get a Medicare supplement while they can. They have decided they would prefer to pay in advance for complete (or nearly complete coverage) they get with a Medicare supplement rather than the pay-as-you-go system of Medicare Advantage.

Medicare Part B Premiums Will Continue To Rise: Be Sure To Evaluate

Julie Smith — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:13:48 +0000

Medicare Part B covers many services, tests, preventive treatments, etc. that are common among health care patients, but are not covered in the Part A plan. Though many services and products are covered, keep in mind that Part B is still not a 100% insurance coverage plan. So, as with any other insurance policy, you should understand the plan and coverage completely upon enrolling.

Health Reform Law

The health reform law modifies a requirement implemented in 2007 that upper-income Part B enrollees pay higher monthly Part B premiums. The change freezes the income thresholds that determine which Medicare Part B enrollees are required to pay the income-related Part B premium, at 2010 levels ($85,000 for individuals and $170,000 for couples). Until now, the income thresholds increased annually so that the higher premiums were paid by about 5 percent of the Medicare population.

Part B Premium

Between 2011 and 2019, the share of Part B enrollees subject to the income-related Part B premium will rise from 5 percent to 14 percent (from 2.4 million enrollees in 2011 to 7.8 million enrollees in 2019), according to this analysis. Monthly Part B premiums will range from $161.50 to $369.10 per month in 2011 for those with incomes above the threshold, depending on income, while the standard Part B premium will be $115.40 per month in 2011.

Prediction

It’s almost impossible to predict how the future will go on costs for Medicare and the FEHPB or on required future services. But based on my analyses, it appears that it would be easier to select an FEHPB plan that has a low annual out-of-pocket expense, some of which are not significantly different than the cost of carrying GEHA. So, I am not seeing a lot of benefit for federal employees to sign up for Part B. Are there any statistics regarding how many otherwise-Medicare-eligible federal employees decide against signing up for Part B?