Topic of the Month:
Long-Term Care Options

This week, in Marci . . .	Volume 7, Issue 19: Week of May 12, 2008
Dear Marci: What resources are available to help me afford long-term care? Get Resources: Resources to help you learn about long-term care options. Health Tip: Women—pledge to take care of yourselves this week! Survey Says: Global “medical travelers” seek care abroad for many reasons.

Dear Marci, My husband needs more help at home than I can give him myself. What resources are available to help us pay for this care? —Cathy (Watkinsville, GA) Click on the blue, underlined hyperlinks for related information available through Medicare Interactive! Dear Cathy, You and your husband will have to pay for this care yourselves unless you: qualify for Medicaid (the nation’s largest payer of long-term care); have a long-term care insurance policy; qualify for coverage of a stay in a Medicare-approved skilled nursing facility (where Medicare coverage is very limited); or qualify for Medicare's home health benefit. There may be resources in your area that can refer you to programs that can help you fund your long-term care needs. Read the full article on Medicare Interactive to find out what other assistance is available to help you fund your long-term care needs. —Marci Stay tuned for next week’s article on long-term care insurance policies! Looking for past Dear Marci Answers? Got other Medicare questions? Find your answers in Medicare Interactive, the Medicare Rights Center’s FREE virtual counseling tool. Visit Medicare Interactive today! MI's new Google™ Custom Search lets you find answers more easily. Do you need individual counseling? Call the Medicare Rights Center consumer hotline at 800-333-4114, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. A Medicare counselor will be happy to answer your question. You can also call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for personal counseling on Medicare benefits, rights and options. Call Social Security (800-772-1213) for questions about enrolling in Medicare or applying for Extra Help! Feel free to send comments about Dear Marci or suggestions about topics you would like Dear Marci to cover. Health Tip of the Week While this past Sunday celebrated moms across the country, this week is dedicated to all women. During National Women’s Health Week, women are encouraged to make their health a top priority and take simple steps to ensure a longer, healthier and happier life. May 12 has been designated National Women’s Check-Up Day, a nationwide effort to encourage women to schedule regular check-ups to detect as early as possible health conditions that primarily affect women. While Medicare does not cover a routine, annual physical, it does cover a "Welcome to Medicare" physical when you first get Medicare coverage. It also covers several screenings, including those for diabetes, osteoporosis, breast cancer and cervical cancer. Such screenings can help women find diseases early, when they are easier to treat. Many of the leading causes of death among women can be successfully prevented or treated if caught early enough. Survey Says . . . Each year, between 60,000 and 85,000 people around the world travel outside their home countries for inpatient hospital care, according to a report by the consulting firm McKinsey. The highest percentage of “medical travelers,” 40 percent of the total, included people seeking the highest quality care—not necessarily at the lowest cost. A good number of these people came from developing countries. Americans seeking lower-cost medical treatments abroad comprised only 9 percent of the total number of global medical travelers. Original Medicare generally does not cover care you received outside of the United States. Supplemental insurance and private health plans may cover some care abroad.		Spotlight on Resources Get more information about long-term care at the National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information. View ratings and reviews of care and housing options for older adults at the seniorDECISION web site. Search the Long-Term Care Quote’s web site to find a long-term care insurance policy. * * * * * * MRC’s Hotline for Professionals Do you help people with Medicare? Where do you turn to for help? Call the Professional Hotline, a national service offered by the Medicare Rights Center to support people serving the Medicare population. Dial 877-794-3570 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT for accurate, up-to-date information and ongoing technical support. * * * * * * How Can You Get Skilled Nursing Care Covered by Medicare? Check out MRC’s next FREE educational web seminar, "Medicare-Covered Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Care." Listen to a recording of this web seminar. * * * * * * Newly Updated Medicare Drug Coverage 101 MRC’s Medicare Drug Coverage 101 is an advocate's guide that tells you everything you need to know about Part D. Get a FREE copy of this great resource. * * * * * * Newly Updated Medicare Part D Appeals Help for Advocates MRC’s Medicare Part D Appeals: An advocate's manual to navigating the Medicare private drug plan appeals process offers an easy-to-understand, comprehensive overview of the entire appeals process, including real-life case examples. Get a FREE copy of this great resource. * * * * * * Spread the Word About Dear Marci Tell your friends, colleagues and clients to sign up to receive Dear Marci and other Medicare policy and news updates from the Medicare Rights Center! Subscribe to MRC's other e-newsletters. Dear Marci is a weekly e-newsletter designed to keep you—people with Medicare, social workers, health care providers and other professionals—in the loop about health care benefits, rights and options for older Americans and people with disabilities. Dear Marci is a free service of the Medicare Rights Center.

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