Do you ever have difficulty paying for your prescription drugs? Do you have limited income and assets? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions and you are a person with Medicare, Extra Help may be available for you. The federal Extra Help program assists qualified Medicare beneficiaries with out-of-pocket expenses associated with Medicare Part D prescription drug expenses. [...]
Medicare benefits can do more than help cover the costs of doctor and hospital bills. Medicare’s preventive benefits help you to be proactive with your health in order to avoid serious illnesses or chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Whether you get a flu vaccine, are screened for diabetes or other illnesses, or want help to quit [...]
Did you know that if you are under age 65 and have a disability you may be eligible for Medicare? If you have questions about this or your health insurance options, SHIIP can help. SHIIP, the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program, is a division of the North Carolina Department of Insurance that provides free, unbiased counseling about Medicare, not just [...]
How Should I Prepare for Medicare? More than 120,000 North Carolinians will turn 65 this year. Turning 65 is a lot like turning 16. When you turned 16, you didn’t automatically get your driver’s license; instead you had to take an exam and prove that you were a safe driver. There was a specific order and procedure for getting your [...]
Did you know that North Carolina has more than 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries? And all those beneficiaries are served by more than 1,000 volunteers and coordinators from SHIIP, the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program. That equates to almost 1,500 beneficiaries for every SHIIP volunteer. Housed within the North Carolina Department of Insurance, SHIIP was established in 1986 to help educate [...]
Adam Searing is Director of the Health Access Coalition for the N.C. Justice Center, the state's leading voice for progressive health care reforms that addresses the needs of the uninsured and underinsured. In 2012, he was recognized as a "Champion of Change" in health care by the White House. Last week’s news that seven million Americans had signed up for [...]
In the world of internet, e-mail, phone calls, blogs and the postal service, Medicare beneficiaries are bombarded with advertisements about free medical services, free equipment and more. Other times, Medicare beneficiaries receive frightening post cards that lead them to believe they will lose their benefits if they don’t respond and provide personal information. Beware of products that seem too good [...]
While North Carolina has refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, our state is enrolling uninsured people at a rate at least twice that of any other state that has refused to set up its own health exchange and refused to expand Medicaid. In short, among states that are dragging their feet on the Affordable Care Act – [...]
Originally published in the Raleigh News & Observer While North Carolina has refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and many politicians continue to complain about the federal health exchange, the roll-out of Obamacare in N.C. tells a far more positive story. North Carolina is enrolling uninsured people at a rate at least twice that of any other [...]
From Adam Searing, Progressive Pulse blog, NC Department of Justice NC Medicaid “broken” was the first statement from State Auditor Beth Wood in a front-page, prominently-headlined News and Observer article after a Medicaid audit was presented at a joint news conference held by Wood and Governor Pat McCrory: “Administrative spending is 38 percent higher compared to the average of nine [...]
