Perspective               

Minority Health is in Peril

Racial and ethnic minority Americans fair worse than white Americans on almost every health indicator, according to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund. The study finds that minority Americans get less health care, have less coverage for care, have a shorter life expectancy, and have higher disease rates than white Americans. This discrepancy includes people on Medicare. For instance, while two-thirds of white seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare had a flu shot in the past year, less than half of African-Americans on Medicare had a flu shot, and about half of Latinos had a flu shot.

One of the reasons minorities on Medicare may have a hard time getting care is that Medicare covers only about half the health care expenses of older Americans. Many people buy supplemental insurance, or Medigap, to fill some of the gaps in Medicare coverage, but Medigap can be very expensive. Other people join Medicare HMOs to cut down their out-of-pocket costs, but may have a hard time seeing the doctors they need to see.

If you need help paying for your Medicare, there are four programs available to help: One – the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program pays the Medicare Part B premiums, deductibles, and co-payments for people on Medicare whose incomes are below the poverty line - $707 in monthly income for people living alone, and $942 for couples. Two – the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary Program (SLMB) pays the Medicare Part B premiums for people on Medicare whose incomes are under $844 a month for people living alone and $1126 a month for couples. Finally, the QI-1 and QI-2 programs help people with higher incomes pay their Part B premiums. QI-1 may pay your part B premium as long as your state still has funding for the program. People can get QI-1 if their incomes are $947 a month for an individual and $1265 a month for couples. QI-2 is for people with higher incomes, but this program pays only $2.33 each month toward the Part B premium. Asset limits for all of these programs are $4,000 for individuals and $6,000 for couples.

If you think you may be eligible for any of these programs, you should take advantage of the extra money they provide you. For more info, call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP. The number is listed in the back of the Medicare & You booklet which was sent to people on Medicare. You can also get a copy by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. Your Senator or Congressperson should also have staff that can help you.

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