2007 Newsletters

December 2007

• The Eden Alternative: Re-Imagining the Nursing Home
• The Cambridge-Somerville Healthy Homes Program (pediatric asthma education & intervention)
• Food Stamps application now available to submit online
• Disability cases last longer as backlog rises
• Nursing Homes over-prescribing anti-psychotics
• Special Section: Health Care Coverage
  • Self-Insured employers not required to offer young adult dependent coverage
  • Health-safety net co-pays chart
  • Updates: MassHealth, Commonwealth Care & Choice and HSN
  • MassHealth and Commonwealth Care coverage comparison chart
  • Case Flash: DME coverage under Private Medicare plans
• Program Highlight: Managed Rx Plans
• MGH Addiction Recovery Management Service (ARMS) opens

November 2007

• Granite State Independent Living and NH Disability Resources
• SEALS Program Advocacy Tips: Disability and Language Rights
• Special Section: Health Care Coverage
  • Reminder- Open Enrollment for current Commonwealth Care members
  • Health Safety Net- Pharmacy Coverage
  • Medicare D Changes for 2008
  • Medicare D out-of-pocket costs difficult to judge in advance
  • Case Flash: Members can’t have Medicare private plan with drug coverage at same time as stand-alone drug plan.
  • MassHealth and Commonwealth Care Re-determination grace period shortened
  • The Individual Mandate – worksheet
• Special Section: Immigration and Immigrant Rights
  • New ICE Worksite Immigration Enforcement Guidelines
  • USCIS Updated Military Naturalization Fact-sheet
  • TPS Terminated for Citizens of Burundi
• Program Highlights
  • Solutions at Work – cars, moving services, interview appropriate clothing, computer access and training, and children’s clothing exchange for the needy
  • Cambridge at Home - new virtual retirement community
  • PALS, Inc. - Lifetime informal support network for disabled adults

October 2007

• Securing and Expanding Access to Legal Services (SEALS) program & immigrant access to benefits
• Fuel Assistance season is here (applications accepted starting 11/1)
• MA DMR launches pilot program for children with Autism
• Individual Mandate: Countdown to Deadline (plan to apply by 11/15)
• Health Safety Net Trust Fund (replaced Free Care)- new info and resources
• WIC outreach to men- they can apply on behalf of their kids
• CMS releases 2008 Medicaid spousal impoverishment standards
• Instructions- to get free birth certificates for MassHealth application
• Medicare D- Open Enrollment (starts 11/15)
• Special Section: Advocacy tips & consumer warnings
  • Consumer Reports: Medicare D plans hike prices after consumers are locked-in
  • Case Flash: Part D drug exceptions
  • Case Flash: Medicare coverage of eyeglasses post-cataract surgery
  • AMA and AARP pursue Medicare PFFS plans for deceptive marketing
  • SEC finds fraud at investment seminars for seniors
• SPECIAL SECTION: Of Clinical Interest
  • Aging and gay and facing prejudice
  • Divorce foretells child’s future care for elderly parents
  • Planning for a disabled child
• CRC Case Corner – “Recycled” Assistive Technology

September 2007

• The Health Safety Net Trust (Formerly "Free Care")
• Barbara McInnis House-Toure Notes 8/07
• MassHealth Premium Assistance-eligibility & premium changes
• Uninsured Face Health Plan Delays (Commonwealth Care)-state deluged with applicants
• Special Section: Medicare D and other Drug Coverage Updates
  • Report: Many Poor without Medicare Drug Coverage
  • CMS to Reassign 1.6 Million to New Part Medicare D Plans
  • Part D Fails to Cover Off-Label Prescriptions
  • Drug Caps May Reduce Adherence
• Boston Globe Op-Ed: Health Reform Failure
• Program Highlights:
  • Boston Health Landscape Project-online resource library about intersection between different nations and cultural traditions and medical care
  • American Friends Service Committee: Material Assistance Program (MAP)
  • Nonantum Village Congregate House-New Enhanced Care Floor

July 2007

• Your Immigration Questions Answered
• Commonwealth Care & Choice Updates - Quick Facts
• Proposed Free Care Changes (the "Health Safety Net")
• The Yap Gap- Young Adult Plans allowed low benefit caps
• BCBS rescinds low minimum employer contribution
• ACLU call for testimony:State/Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Laws
• MassHealth Personal Needs Allowance Increased
• Editorial:  Health Care - Canada vs. U.S.
• Program Highlights
  • Legal Mediation: Consumer Protection Services
  • Mass SNF to Cater to LGBT Elders & Follow Eden Model
  • Free House Cleaning for the Seriously Ill
  • Education Grants for Working Adults and Displaced Workers (for high demand fields)
  • Memories of Love Foundation- FL Vacations for Families with a Seriously Ill Parent

June 2007

• MassHealth For Long-Term Care
• MassHealth Proof of Citizenship and Identity Rules Updates
• MassHealth Standard for Independent Foster Care Teens
• MassHealth Updates Community Spouse Allowances
• Commonwealth Care Updates
• CMS Cautions Private Plans to Stop Misleading Marketing
• Mass Rehab Home Care Assistance Program
• Coping with an Aging Parent
• Mental Patients Find Understanding in Peer Therapy

May 2007

• Food And Nutrition Programs Overview
• Commonwealth Care Updates
• Some Prescription Advantage Members Terminated April 30th
• Report: Young Adult Health Plans Can Be Risky
• Long Term Care Benefits for Veterans and Surviving Spouses
• MassHealth Revises Eligibility Divisor
• Court Revises MassHealth Regulations on Invested Assets
• Mass 2-1-1: Non-Emergency Information and Referral Service
• TPS Extended for Hondurans, Salvadorans, and Nicaraguans
• Guide to Cultures of the Foreign-Born Monographs Online
• Editorial: Fuel Assistance Fix Needed

April 2007

• Commonwealth Choice Open for Enrollment (Unsubsidized Health Reform Insurance Plans)
• (upated website: Commonwealth Care/Choice)
• Immigration Raids- Know Your Rights
• Medicare Prescription Drug Plans Fail Limited English Proficient Beneficiaries
• SSI - Plan for Acheiving Self-Support (PASS)
• Case Flash:   Mistaken Part D Enrollment
• Program Highlight:  Tri-City Housing Advocacy for People with AIDS (HOPWA)
• Program Highlight:  RESTORE Oncology Rehabilitation Program

March 2007

• Executive Office of Elder Affairs: Community Based Services
• BHA Project Waitlist Purge and Developmental Choice
• Case Flash: Medicaid Coverage of Part B
• Medicines New Commonwealth Care FAQ's
• Health Reform - Current and Upcoming Products
• New FPL as of April 1st
• Medicare D Appeals Handbook
• Editorial: Medicare and Private Plans
• The Blum Center Goes Wireless

February 2007

• Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) & Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - The BasicsNew
• Special Interpreter-Conferencing Phones On Inpatient Units
• Special Section:  Medicare Updates
  • Medicare Health Plan & Medicare D Incorrect Premiums Withheld
  • Consumer Beware! Medicare Sales Abuses
  • Medicare Case Flash: Coverage For Emergency Care
• Special Section:  MassHealth
• MassHealth Citizenship Verification Grace Period
• Veteran's On MassHealth For Nursing Home Care Can Keep $90 Of Monthly Pension
• Free Tax Assistance
• Program Highlight: HomePower - Expanded Home Care For Adults
• Program Highlight: HealthWell Foundation
• New Technology: Unobtrusive Lifeline Call Buttons

January 2007

• New DPH Pediatric Palliative Care Program
• Enhanced Adult Family Care at MGH
• National Caregiver Relief Law Enacted
• National Study finds 650,000 Caregivers In Massachusetts
• Case Flash: Medicare 24-Month Waiting Period Regulations
• Commonwealth Care Clarifications
• Prescription Advantage: 2007 Rate Schedule
• Special Section: Medicare Part D Updates
  • Special Enrollment Period For Low Income Subsidy (LIS)
  • Extra Help (Low Income Subsidy) Process and Details
  • CMS Contracts With Wellpoint For Point Of Sale Enrollment
  • MassHealth Emergency Drug Coverage Update
  • Case Flash: Documenting "Extra Help" (LIS)
  • Part D Enrollment Extended For Those Given Inadequate Change Notice
• Special Section:  Nutritional Program Highlights
• The Brown Bag Program
• The Massachusetts Children's Fund
• International Institute of Boston Small Business Loans to Refugees and Asylees
• Survey: Ads Influence Prescriptions