Re-Admission Costs and Home Care Benefits

Last year, nearly 18 percent of Medicare patients who had been hospitalized were re-admitted within a month. While that is lower than past years, roughly 2 million patients return a year, costing Medicare $26 billion. Officials estimate $17 billion...

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Medicare Fines Hospitals for Re-Admissions

Home Care services provide the infrastructure to enable patients to remain at home, with safety, security, and monitoring of their individual care plans, which avoids costly hospitalization and re-admittance. See evidence cited below to support such a "care collaboration"... Medicare is...

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Family Awareness & Care Intervention

Be aware of how seniors manage their health issues. It is important to understand: many elders do NOT want to go to the hospital...they are 1)afraid of being admitted; and 2)afraid of sitting in the emergency room for hours...

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Comparison shop Medicare Advantage Plans

Medicare Advantage plans — private plans that offer benefits beyond those of traditional Medicare — will receive somewhat lower government payments in 2015, due to the Affordable Care Act. That move prompted speculation that more plans would withdraw from...

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Medicare Changes in 2015

Passing along important information concerning Medicare 2015 enrollment and individual plan coverages... Millions of Medicare recipients could be hit with rising prescription drug premium costs in 2015. Nearly 10 million people now enrolled in six of the 10 largest Part...

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Holidays and Health Clues

Many of us are likely to visit with our aging parents and elderly relatives over the holidays. And in many cases, Mom or Dad is living alone, or beginning to have trouble living independently. Now is a good time...

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Aging Parents and Holidays

The Fall and Winter holidays mean different things to different people, but for most of us, they are very much about family. Here are some observances to be mindful of as you engage with your elderly parents or family...

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Age Decline

It can be difficult to tell the difference between normal, age-related decline and something more serious. According to a recent article quoting a psychiatrist (and private practitioner in Massachusetts), there are several ways families can tell if an elderly...

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Surgery – Peripheral Artery Disease

Our third installment concerning "peripheral artery disease" covers invasive surgical procedures which may be employed to correct obstructions, strengthen arterial walls, and/or by-pass deteriorated arterial pathways altogether. In some cases, angioplasty or bypass or thrombolytic therapy surgery may be necessary...

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Dehydration and Health Issues for Seniors

My elderly mother seems to rarely consume water or liquids. She keeps her home at what I consider a very warm temperature. She constantly awakes in the morning with her bed clothing soaked in perspiration. Doesn't this...

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