By Pascal Bergeron
What is Medicare prescription drug coverage?
Medicare offers prescription drug coverage (Part D) for everyone with Medicare.This coverage may help you lower your prescription drug costs and help you protect against higher costs in the future. It can give you greater access to drugs that you can use to prevent complications of diseases and stay well. To get Medicare drug coverage, you must join a plan run by an insurance company or other private company approved by Medicare. Cost: Each plan can vary in cost and drugs covered. If you join a Medicare drug plan, you usually pay a monthly premium. If you decide not to join a Medicare drug plan when you are first eligible, you may pay a penalty if you choose to join later. If you have limited income and resources, you might qualify for extra help paying your Part D costs. For more information about extra help with prescription drug costs and how to apply, visit www.socialsecurity.gov or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. TTY users should call 1-800-325-0778.
When can I make changes to my coverage?
You can make changes to your Medicare health or prescription drug coverage between November 15—December 31 each year. If you are eligible for a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can also join a Medicare Advantage Plan between January 1-March 31 each year. Depending on your situation, there may be other times when you can change your Medicare health or prescription drug coverage.
Important Dates
October 1, 2008 - Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plan shopping can start gathering information and evaluate Part D plans.
November 15 to December 31, 2008 - Here is your chance to join a Part D plan for 2009.
Keep in mind that whatever decision you make cannot be changed again until November of 2009, to go into effect for 2010. So, if you want a second opinion, get it NOW!
January 1, 2009 - Your 2009 Medicare Part D plan becomes effective and you will be able to begin using your Part D benefits.
January 1–November 15, 2009 - Special Enrollment Period or (SEP) begins. This SEP is available for those people who enrolled into a Medicare Advantage Plan with a Prescription Drug Plan.
Many people ask why they need to join a Medicare D Coverage Drug Plan or PDP if they do not take any or very few medications. If you do not join when you are first eligible for Medicare D coverage, you will pay a 1% per month penalty that will be added to your premium when you do join and this is for life. Also, since this is an insurance product, you need to understand that if you get sick in the middle of the year, you cannot join until the next AEP. You do not wait until after you have an accident to get car insurance and the same can be said of Medicare Part D Coverage Drug Plans.
http://www.medicare.gov/
During the AEP, you can go to www.MyPartDusa.com to see your top 5 Medicare Part D Coverage Drug Programs that will save you the most money
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Selecting an Assisting Living Facility
By Pascal Bergeron
This is my first post and I would like to introduce myself. I am the Asst. Administrator of North Lake Retirement Home in Hollywood Fl. North Lake Retirement Home is an assisting living facility that was founded by my parents in 1989 and has grown to be the largest family owned and operated facility in Broward county at 114 beds. What I hope to accomplish with my new blog is to provide information to the public from my experiences and expertise from operating North Lake Retirement Home.
Over the years I have met with hundreds of family members who find them selves in the awkward position of finding an assisting living facility for there loved one. "This is new to me" "I never really planned for this" "I don't know where to start" these are statements that I constantly hear.Which is understandable no one likes to think of the future in a negative way, we think that mom and dad are going to live for ever and be in the same physical and mental shape for eternity. So we don't plan and don't educate ourselves on the subject. Unfortunately the reality is that it is going to be up to you "ready or not", that your loved ones care is selected. This usually will come at you very fast usually in a matter of days, your loved one ends up in the hospital and the DR recommends the need to go to an assisting living facility, and by the way the discharge will be in a couple of days! Your first reaction is panic "Where do I start" What is assisting living" "How will I be able to afford it" "Where do I find a facility".
Budget
The good news is that there are hundreds of facilities around the bad news is they are differ from Price, Care and location. So how do you narrow your search? First you need to figure a budget.Take the amount of Social Security,Pension's and any other incomes and add them up.Now you have a base to be able to start looking "but you only get $500 a month that's about $17 a day!" Don't worry there are many different programs that the state of Florida provides that will reimburse the facility off setting the cost. When you are dealing with incomes between $500 and $1,300 you will be responsible to pay the amount of your monthly income . So Basically budget is not an issue if you receive some sort of income, you can find a nice clean well run facility that will meet your needs.The only difference between more expensive facilities is the fanciness and elegentness which is great but reasonably speaking, we would all love to live in a 4 star resort but financially most of us can not afford this luxury.
Care
When it comes to care this is the most important factor in making your decision.You need to determine the needs that must be met.You should make a list of all of the medical conditions that will need to be addressed by the facility staff. Make sure you are totally honest, you will use this list to inform the facilities when you make your first contact phone interview to see if they can provide the appropriate care, more often then not a well run facility will not accept resident's that they feel they can not properly care for. If you are turned down don't worry there are facilities that can handle your case.
First Step
Now you are ready to begin your search. If your loved one is in the hospital or a rehab facility discuss this with the Social Worker assigned to them about the matter they will be glad to provide you with a list of local facilities, these are facilities that they have probably dealt with and feel comfortable referring you to them. Or you may want to get in touch with a Placement company that specializes in helping families find the perfect facility free of charge ,in Broward county there are a few good ones that I recommend South Fl Senior Services , Placement Counselors Corporation , Senior Advantages.
Second Step
Once you have your list of facilities you need to contact the facilities, but first you will need some questions to help in your search , here are some sample questions to get you started.
You:Yes my name is _______ may a speak with your administrator please?
Facility:May I ask what it is regrading?
You:I would like to see about possibly bringing my loved one to your facility
(If they try to give you someone else you insist to speak to the administrator, they will try to pass you on to a admission's person or a marketing director, these are individuals that are paid on commission they are there to sell you a room, remember your not buying a car you don't want a salesman!)
You want to set up your tour with someone who is in charge of the daily operations so either the administrator or there assistant.
Once you get them on the line state who you are and who and why your looking to place in there facility.
If there first question is how much is your budget politely wrap up the call (remember budget is not an issue)
The goal is for you to feel comfortable, then find out if you could drop in some day for a tour (It is better to just pop up, This insures your tour will not be rehearsed "meaning that they don't have time to make sure that everything is perfect before you arrive" try touring on the weekend's or late in the day (You want to see how the facility operates under non-business hours when higher management is usually not available.
Touring
Here are some things to look for when you tour the facility
1.Upon arrival how is the front of the property clean and in good repair
2.Upon entering do you smell any foul odors
3.Are you greeted by friendly staff
4.Take the tour first instead of sitting down and discussing details (that way if you don't like what you see you can save yourself some time and skip the sit down part)
5.When touring observe if the resident's appear happy and well groomed.
6.Speak to resident's, ask them if they are happy with there care?
7.Tour a room and see if it is large enough for your loved one.
8.Check for cleanliness
9.See if you may talk to the aide that will be assisting your loved one in the morning if they are not there see if a phone interview can be arranged.(Ask the aide some questions, how long have they been with the company, why should you choose this facility,etc ask questions to try and get a feel if this is someone you want caring for your loved one. This is a very important step not only will this help you select the right facility , if you do choose the facility the staff member will remember you and be extra careful when providing care.
10.Ask for activity and dinning menu's, this will answer some more important questions (Is the menu consistent with what your loved one likes to eat and is there a good structured activity program?
With this information you now must compare the three facilities you visited. Remember that appearance is important but Care should be the most important factor in your decision (chandlers and marble floors will not help your loved one when they are in need) The decision should be rather simple if you follow the steps above, at this point you will have a facility that you prefer over the others, if your still are not convinced ask more questions, you should re tour if you feel the need to. If for some reason none of the facilities are appealing to you go to another source for facility recommendations, and get a list of other facilities and go through the process again. What ever you do don not place your loved one in a facility you do not feel comfortable with it will never work out, if you have doubts those negative feelings will always be with you causing you constant guilt!
I hope that some of this information will be helpful and will bring some calmness to your decision making process and you will be able to find the perfect facility for your loved one. In future coming post I will provide information on how and where to apply for state benefits , and ways to make sure your applications get approved and quickly, as well as inside information that most facilities would rather you don't know about.If you have any questions you can contact me at Northlake1222@gmail.com
This is my first post and I would like to introduce myself. I am the Asst. Administrator of North Lake Retirement Home in Hollywood Fl. North Lake Retirement Home is an assisting living facility that was founded by my parents in 1989 and has grown to be the largest family owned and operated facility in Broward county at 114 beds. What I hope to accomplish with my new blog is to provide information to the public from my experiences and expertise from operating North Lake Retirement Home.
Over the years I have met with hundreds of family members who find them selves in the awkward position of finding an assisting living facility for there loved one. "This is new to me" "I never really planned for this" "I don't know where to start" these are statements that I constantly hear.Which is understandable no one likes to think of the future in a negative way, we think that mom and dad are going to live for ever and be in the same physical and mental shape for eternity. So we don't plan and don't educate ourselves on the subject. Unfortunately the reality is that it is going to be up to you "ready or not", that your loved ones care is selected. This usually will come at you very fast usually in a matter of days, your loved one ends up in the hospital and the DR recommends the need to go to an assisting living facility, and by the way the discharge will be in a couple of days! Your first reaction is panic "Where do I start" What is assisting living" "How will I be able to afford it" "Where do I find a facility".
Budget
The good news is that there are hundreds of facilities around the bad news is they are differ from Price, Care and location. So how do you narrow your search? First you need to figure a budget.Take the amount of Social Security,Pension's and any other incomes and add them up.Now you have a base to be able to start looking "but you only get $500 a month that's about $17 a day!" Don't worry there are many different programs that the state of Florida provides that will reimburse the facility off setting the cost. When you are dealing with incomes between $500 and $1,300 you will be responsible to pay the amount of your monthly income . So Basically budget is not an issue if you receive some sort of income, you can find a nice clean well run facility that will meet your needs.The only difference between more expensive facilities is the fanciness and elegentness which is great but reasonably speaking, we would all love to live in a 4 star resort but financially most of us can not afford this luxury.
Care
When it comes to care this is the most important factor in making your decision.You need to determine the needs that must be met.You should make a list of all of the medical conditions that will need to be addressed by the facility staff. Make sure you are totally honest, you will use this list to inform the facilities when you make your first contact phone interview to see if they can provide the appropriate care, more often then not a well run facility will not accept resident's that they feel they can not properly care for. If you are turned down don't worry there are facilities that can handle your case.
First Step
Now you are ready to begin your search. If your loved one is in the hospital or a rehab facility discuss this with the Social Worker assigned to them about the matter they will be glad to provide you with a list of local facilities, these are facilities that they have probably dealt with and feel comfortable referring you to them. Or you may want to get in touch with a Placement company that specializes in helping families find the perfect facility free of charge ,in Broward county there are a few good ones that I recommend South Fl Senior Services , Placement Counselors Corporation , Senior Advantages.
Second Step
Once you have your list of facilities you need to contact the facilities, but first you will need some questions to help in your search , here are some sample questions to get you started.
You:Yes my name is _______ may a speak with your administrator please?
Facility:May I ask what it is regrading?
You:I would like to see about possibly bringing my loved one to your facility
(If they try to give you someone else you insist to speak to the administrator, they will try to pass you on to a admission's person or a marketing director, these are individuals that are paid on commission they are there to sell you a room, remember your not buying a car you don't want a salesman!)
You want to set up your tour with someone who is in charge of the daily operations so either the administrator or there assistant.
Once you get them on the line state who you are and who and why your looking to place in there facility.
If there first question is how much is your budget politely wrap up the call (remember budget is not an issue)
The goal is for you to feel comfortable, then find out if you could drop in some day for a tour (It is better to just pop up, This insures your tour will not be rehearsed "meaning that they don't have time to make sure that everything is perfect before you arrive" try touring on the weekend's or late in the day (You want to see how the facility operates under non-business hours when higher management is usually not available.
Touring
Here are some things to look for when you tour the facility
1.Upon arrival how is the front of the property clean and in good repair
2.Upon entering do you smell any foul odors
3.Are you greeted by friendly staff
4.Take the tour first instead of sitting down and discussing details (that way if you don't like what you see you can save yourself some time and skip the sit down part)
5.When touring observe if the resident's appear happy and well groomed.
6.Speak to resident's, ask them if they are happy with there care?
7.Tour a room and see if it is large enough for your loved one.
8.Check for cleanliness
9.See if you may talk to the aide that will be assisting your loved one in the morning if they are not there see if a phone interview can be arranged.(Ask the aide some questions, how long have they been with the company, why should you choose this facility,etc ask questions to try and get a feel if this is someone you want caring for your loved one. This is a very important step not only will this help you select the right facility , if you do choose the facility the staff member will remember you and be extra careful when providing care.
10.Ask for activity and dinning menu's, this will answer some more important questions (Is the menu consistent with what your loved one likes to eat and is there a good structured activity program?
With this information you now must compare the three facilities you visited. Remember that appearance is important but Care should be the most important factor in your decision (chandlers and marble floors will not help your loved one when they are in need) The decision should be rather simple if you follow the steps above, at this point you will have a facility that you prefer over the others, if your still are not convinced ask more questions, you should re tour if you feel the need to. If for some reason none of the facilities are appealing to you go to another source for facility recommendations, and get a list of other facilities and go through the process again. What ever you do don not place your loved one in a facility you do not feel comfortable with it will never work out, if you have doubts those negative feelings will always be with you causing you constant guilt!
I hope that some of this information will be helpful and will bring some calmness to your decision making process and you will be able to find the perfect facility for your loved one. In future coming post I will provide information on how and where to apply for state benefits , and ways to make sure your applications get approved and quickly, as well as inside information that most facilities would rather you don't know about.If you have any questions you can contact me at Northlake1222@gmail.com
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