Happy Holidays!
Information
& Referral/Telephone Information & Crisis Calls Center provides
referrals to over 150,000 callers yearly who need housing, utility assistance,
food, child care, medical care, counseling, substance abuse treatment, jobs,
legal services, transportation, education, and other emergencies.
Happy New Year! See you in 2024
Was
your bill at the doctor more than you thought it should be?
You may owe a facility fee when you go to a hospital-owned
outpatient clinic. In other words, when you see a doctor at a facility that is
owned by a hospital, rather than owned by the doctor. These facility fees help
the hospital maintain the clinic by offsetting operational costs.
If your doctor’s office charges you a facility fee, it will be in addition to
the cost of your medical care. Your doctor’s office may call it something like
a “room charge.” Facility fees can range a lot in cost; the fee could be $15 or
$150.
Under Original Medicare, facility fees are a covered service, and you are
responsible for 20% of the cost of the fee. Medicare Advantage Plans must also
cover facility fees, but there is no requirement as to how much of the fees the
plan must cover. Because of this, your copays could be high. If your Medicare
Advantage Plan denies coverage for the facility fee, you should appeal
on the basis that Medicare Advantage Plans must cover the same services covered
by Original Medicare.
Hospital-owned outpatient practices must notify you that you could potentially
be charged for use of the facilities. If they don’t, you should file a grievance
with your plan and a complaint with
Medicare. You may also consider switching to a different
provider in the future to avoid these costs.
ADA's 33rd Anniversary
July 26, 2023, marks the 33rd anniversary of the
day President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
into law, affirming the dignity of all people with disabilities.
According to ADA.gov,
this civil rights law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in
employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial
facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. The law
provides specific requirements and standards for providing access to buildings
and facilities, public transportation services, telecommunication equipment and
services, as well as equal access to health care and social
services. Over the last 33 years there have been several updated
regulations and ADA amendments. There is still a long way to go with
advocating and strengthening the equality for all Americans with
disabilities. For additional information, please visit the ADA
National Network funded by ACL’s National Institute on Disability,
Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research or the ADA Anniversary Tool kit for events, information, guidance, and training on the ADA.
AIRS Testing Site Option Available in August
AIRS Certification Program is a professional credentialing program for individuals working within the I&R sector of human services. IF you are interested in taking the AIRS exam you can check out the AIRS website for location: https://www.airs.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3313
Aging Matters is currently hosting a site in Cape Girardeau, MO. Seating is limited so please apply today if interested.
AIRS is currently providing a $50 discount on the
exam registration (through July)
If you are wanting to take the AIRS exams Aging Matters has scheduled:
929 Normal Avenue – Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 – The
basement of Kent Library, Rm. 108 (Entrance to Testing Services is through the
east side ground level doors. Please access the campus map for further campus
directions and parking areas).
June is LGBTQ Pride month all around the globe.
History: The first Pride parade happened in New York City as
gay activists commemorated the events of the Stonewall Riots the year prior.
Since the first Pride celebration over fifty years ago, the queer and trans
rights movement has evolved into a political and cultural force that’s fought
for equality for all people. Nowadays, the LGBTQ community and its allies
celebrate queer and trans Pride by throwing all sorts of celebrations.
This
month's blog was copied from The West County
Psychological Associates' winter newsletter, Winter Issue 2023. We are not even
two weeks into the new year and I am feeling burnout. I'm sure some of you have
been a little rattled over the past few years. I think my brain is trying to
reset itself back to pre-pandemic. I absolutely enjoy my job and my
co-workers but there are those days I just want to stay in bed with the
covers over my head. I hope this helps you as much as it did me. - Jamie
Saunders, MSW - St. Louis Area Agency on Aging, Information & Assistance
Supervisor
I’ll
be honest…I put off writing this article. I, along with many helping
professionals in the senior care field, have been feeling drained. There is so
much to do and not enough hands to help. There is the ever-present time
struggle to balance providing good care and documenting everything to satisfy
insurance and licensure requirements. There is the physical, mental, and
emotional energy we try to restore after work, yet we often enter personal
caregiving situations for our families in addition to playing catch-up with
paperwork or preparation for the next day. While this problem is not
necessarily new - staffing has been an issue for a long time in healthcare -
there are two new twists that are compounding the issue. First, never before
has a generation aged into the need for care like the baby boomers are in line
to do. According to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) Aging in America Fact
Sheet, “The number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to nearly double
from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older group’s
share of the total population will rise from 16 percent to 23 percent.” The
other new facet of this problem is that there has never been a shortage of
caregivers like there is currently in the U.S. An article published in November
by AARP, “Caregiver Shortage Felt by Older Adults,” reports that “3 out of 5
U.S. nursing homes have limited their admissions due to staffing shortages and
nearly 3 out of 4 are concerned that they may have to close their facilities
due to staffing problems.” These concerns are echoed by many in-home care
agencies who are trying to staff the hours their clients need to stay safely at
home. The knowledge that the work we do is necessary is both reassuring and
weighty. We have watched many colleagues leave in the past two years for
employment that isn’t as taxing and pays the same, if not better, than what we
make. So, why stay? Then again, why leave? We love what we do. We often can’t
imagine ourselves in any other line of work, and the feeling that comes with a
patient getting better is unlike any other. We are passionate about this
career, and we have deep connections to our clients and to each other. In what
other line of work would we get to listen to the stories of each patient or
have the opportunity to witness some of the best parts of human nature? The
main question is, if we continue to stay, how can we prevent ourselves from
burning out in a system that is experiencing so much turmoil? Lately, I have
been practicing the concepts of taking in the good and moment meditations.
These ideas don’t take a great deal of time and can be done anywhere.
Psychologist Rick Hanson has focused much of his career on mindfulness and the
neuroscience of contentment. He emphasizes the benefits of fostering a sense of
gratitude and creating small habits to improve our outlook. At first, this may
sound frivolous, but I have noticed a genuine improvement in my outlook when I
practice these concepts. Let me share how I have implemented these ideas and
habits in minor ways. I notice if I skip them too often, my days do not feel as
productive and I feel more anxious. The first part of any good day of mine
takes several minutes of preparation the night prior. Before I go to bed, I
program my coffee maker so that I can wake up and go to the kitchen with a
fresh pot of coffee ready. In the morning I get up, head to the kitchen, and
intentionally choose a mug. I take a moment to appreciate the mug I’ve selected
(most mugs in my collection are a gift from someone special, a memento from a
trip, a color I enjoy, or contain a fun graphic). I pour my coffee, smell the
aroma, and take a sip. I turn to look at the side of my fridge where I have a
collection of holiday and birthday cards, birth announcements, inspirational sayings,
and silly magnets. I take it all in and reflect on the good people in my life.
In total, this practice from start to finish takes about two minutes. Then, I
run around to get myself and my family ready for the busy day ahead. The beauty
of it is, I know I will have this calm moment again tomorrow, the day after,
and so on. It’s my built-in moment of gratitude and mindfulness to start the
day off well. A second practice I do throughout the day is to try to give
myself two options, no matter how small the decision may be. This helps me feel
grounded and reinforces a sense of security within me. For example, I keep two
different scented soaps in the bathroom to choose from, I ask myself if I want
to return a call or check my email when I have a few minutes between clients,
and so forth. I am choosing to write this article now (you may recall I put it
off previously) rather than write up a treatment plan. We have many
opportunities to choose small paths throughout our day, and it is important to
remind ourselves of the power we have to choose. These small moments do add up.
Meanwhile, I work toward acceptance that we operate in an imperfect system for
the time being. I remind myself that I will continue to do the best I can for
the clients and families that are in my care. I will show up, assist where I
can, and appreciate the many beautiful people I work with each day. I will
continue to consult with my colleagues for the well-being of my clients, as
well as for my own mental health. I hope these ideas help you as you continue
your wonderful work. Please reach out to us at WCPA, (314) 275-8599, if we can
help you or your team gain additional support.
The final
rule (CMS-4199-F) can be downloaded from the Federal Register at:https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2022-23407/medicare-program-implementing-certain-provisions-of-the-consolidated-appropriations-act-2021-and
Section
120 of the CAA – Beneficiary Enrollment Simplification
In
general, under current rules for Medicare premium Part A and Part B, the date
when an individual’s coverage becomes effective depends on when they enroll:
·
If an individual enrolls during any of the first three months of
their Initial Enrollment Period (IEP), their coverage will start the first
month of eligibility (e.g., age 65).
·
If an individual enrolls during their IEP in the month they
become eligible, their coverage will start the month after they enroll.
·
If an individual enrolls during any of the last three months of
their IEP, their coverage will start 2-3 months after they enroll.
·
If an individual enrolls during the General Enrollment Period
(GEP), which runs from January 1st through March 31st every year, their
coverage will start July 1st.
As mandated in Section 120 of the CAA
and finalized in this rule, beginning January 1, 2023, Medicare coverage
will become effective the month after enrollment for individuals enrolling in
the last three months of their IEP or in the GEP, thereby reducing any potential
gaps in coverage.
Section 120 of the CAA also gave the Secretary the authority to establish SEPs in the case of individuals who meet such exceptional conditions as the Secretary may provide. In this rule, CMS is finalizing SEPs that will provide individuals who meet certain exceptional conditions and who missed a Medicare enrollment period, an opportunity to enroll without having to wait for the GEP and without being subject to a late enrollment penalty (LEP).
~ submitted by Liz Yokley, BSW at Aging Matters
