What Happened to Our 2010 C.O.L.A.?

The cost of living adjustment for social security benefits did not occur in 2010. How does the lack of a 2010 social security cost of living raise affect seniors and will it happen again?

United States citizens who get social security or social security disability benefits received a surprise at the end of 2009. The Social Security Administration announced on October 15, 2009 that there would be no cost of living adjustment or COLA for 2010. How did the government come to this decision and what impact did this have for social security benefit recipients?

What Is COLA?

COLA, also known as the cost of living raise, helps to bridge the gap for those receiving social security benefits during periods of inflation. COLA became part of the 1972 Social Security Amendments enacted by Congress. Since then, COLA has existed as an annual occurrence each January, however in 2009, the US Government announced that a 2010 Social Security cost of living raise would not occur leaving many people concerned.

How is COLA Determined?

The 2010 social security cost of living raise has been determined the same way since 1972. COLA is based upon the annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W). The measurement is calculated by comparing the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year in order to predict if a COLA will occur for the following year. If there is a percentage increase of at least 0.05 percent there will be an increase in the cost of living allowance. If there is no wage earner increase based on the CPI or if it is less than 0.05 percent, no COLA is offered.

What Happened to the 2010 COLA?

In 2010, the cost of living raise was determined from comparing the average CPI for wage earnings from the third quarter 2008 and the third quarter 2009. The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the 2008 third quarter CPI wage average was 215.495 while 2009's third quarter CPI wage average was 211.001, meaning year 2009 was less than year 2008. Since there was no increase in CPI average wages between 2008 and 2009, the 2010 social security cost of living raise did not occur.

2010 COLA and Medicare Part B

Seniors felt the lack of a 2010 COLA increase through Medicare Part B premium increases that affected 7% of people receiving social security benefits. Medicare Part B premiums are not determined through the Consumer Price Index and increase each year regardless of a COLA increase or decrease. However, there is a "hold harmless” provision in the Social Security Act that protects 93% of social security beneficiaries from having to pay the increased premium.

While Medicare Part B did not negatively affect a majority of social security beneficiaries, other factors outside of the social security administration's reach still lurk behind the scenes. The lack of a 2010 social security cost of living raise did not prevent property owners from raising rents each year, for example. With the 2009 Credit Reform Act, credit card companies began increasing and implementing fees to pass on to cardholders before the act went into effect in February 2010.

Therefore, even though the average price of groceries and gas did not increase, other areas such as housing did rise. Which means a COLA would be needed for some individuals to help hedge these increases. Doris Bias, age 52 from Maryland, receives social security disability and was dismayed there was no increase but thankful that her landlord decided not to raise her rent in 2010.

"I know I would have found some way to manage if the rent did increase, but at least now I can continue on with my normal budget," explained Ms. Bias.

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/money/personal-finance/articles/69916.aspx#ixzz0mlwzQw3K

Can This Happen Again?

It is possible for there to be no COLA just as there was in 2010? If there is no change or a decrease in the CPI wage earnings average from year to year, a COLA will not occur. Be advised that special circumstances occurred in 2008 and 2009 that directly affected why there was no social security 2010 cost of living raise. As with other global governments, the United States was in an economic downturn during this period meaning consumers had less money to spend due to high unemployment rates. This in turn, drove prices down to encourage increased spending. Should another economic situation similar or worse than that which occurred in 2008 were to happen, the chances are likely there would not be a COLA.

The 2010 COLA Aftermath

No 2010 social security cost of living raise was a shock to social security beneficiaries across the nation. Seniors and other beneficiaries will have to tighten their budgets a little more if housing and utility costs continue to rise. No COLA for 2010 served a reminder that this cost of living raise is not guaranteed to occur every year. When the government determines there will be no cost of living allowance, it can also affect the Consumer Confidence Index or CCI. Ways to combat any unexpected surprises should this happen again include:

•Tightening your monthly budget by trimming down to your necessities.
•Start saving a little extra money for a rainy day to help out in a crunch, if possible.
•Do not expect a COLA each year. If it happens, use that extra savings to your advantage.
For more information on the social security cost of living raise, visit the Social Security Administration's website and be sure to read the FAQ section and current press releases.

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/money/personal-finance/articles/69916.aspx?p=2#ixzz0mlwnpQyf

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Frugality is the Best Policy

Jeannine Aversa and Bernard Condon, AP Business Writers,

Frugality among consumers is outliving the recession (what recession?)

Even as the economic recovery plods ahead, many American consumers are refusing to come along.

They're not spending freely -- and they have no plans to.

Many of them have steady income. They aren't saddled by high debts. They don't fear losing their jobs. Yet despite recent gains, they've lost so much household wealth that they're far more cautious about spending than before the recession.

Their behavior suggests that the Great Recession may have bred a new frugality that will endure well into the recovery. And because consumers fuel about 70 percent of the economy, their tightfisted habits means the rebound could stay unusually sluggish.

That's the picture that emerges from an Associated Press survey of leading economists and interviews with more than two dozen ordinary Americans. The new AP Economy Survey asked 44 leading economists whether the recession created a "new frugality" among consumers that will outlive the recession. Two-thirds said yes.

They had in mind people like Marjorie Feldman of suburban St. Louis, who retired three years ago as a systems analyst for a utility company. The stock investments in her retirement account have sunk 15 percent from 2007. The value of her home is down 20 percent.

"I had retired assuming I'd make money" off the investments, said Feldman, who's in her early 60's. "I just don't feel as confident in the economy, and I never will again. I won't spend money the way I used to."

Feldman's husband works full time in academia. She has a part time job preparing tax returns at H&R Block. But her prime earning years are behind her.

"I don't think it will ever get back to where it was before," she said of her nest egg. "I won't spend money the way I used to."

Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics at Moody's Economy.com, notes that baby boomers, in particular, enjoyed spending sprees for most of their adult lives as their assets steadily grow.

"But the recession changed that," Hoyt said. "Many have retirement and children's education looming. All of a sudden, they see their balance sheets decline in a way they've never seen before."

To be sure, many shoppers, especially the wealthy, are buying into the recovery. Partly on the strength of consumer spending, the economy emerged from recession last year and has been growing steadily, if moderately, since. Major retailers logged solid sales in March. Employers have begun to add jobs, including a net increase of 162,000 in March. The stock market has risen 70 percent from its low in March 2009.

Yet many who became penny-pinchers during the recession are in no mood to start shopping again with abandon for clothes, cars and home additions. They've discovered the peace of mind that comes with rebuilding savings, shopping more prudently and learning to live with less.

At their nerve-racked peak last year, Americans socked away 6.4 percent of their disposable income. That compared with less than 1 percent hit at one point during the pre-recession boom. The savings rate has since dropped to 3.1 percent. Yet few expect it to approach the near-zero savings rate that would signal high-octane spending has roared back.

Susan Wilson, 55, a freelance PR specialist in Scottsdale, Ariz., says her business is picking up. But her spending isn't. Wilson still feels burned by the recession, when she lost her home to foreclosure.

"Shame on me," she said. "I wasn't paying enough attention to my financial health. That will never happen again."

Wilson is renting now. She traded in her leased car for a used car she could buy outright. She's started growing her own vegetables and air-drying her laundry to save money and stay out of debt. She's looking to buy a home, but not one with an outsize mortgage.

"I'm looking for pretty much the smallest house I can live in," she said.

Interviews with ordinary Americans suggest a new frugality endures even though consumer spending has risen for five straight months and retail sales for three.

In the AP's new quarterly survey, a majority of economists agreed that a new frugality will persist even as the recovery gains firmer footing.

"I would call it a 'mini age of austerity,'" said Sean Snaith, an economics professor at the University of Central Florida.

"Consumers will not run up multiple credit cards to their limits, and when buying a house the objective will not be to get the maximum square footage for which they can afford the payment. A higher savings rate will be in place for several years."

Jeff Thredgold, an economist at Thredgold Economic Associates, predicts "less impress-my-neighbor-type spending" in coming years.

Count Keith Flowers of Manassas, Va., in that category. He's decided that the hit he took in the housing slump requires him to continue to rein in spending. He's cut off his landline phone and has become a regular at discount retailer Costco.

He isn't worried about losing his job in business development at an information technology company. What's led him to cut back spending is the sunken value of his condominium. He bought it in 2005 for about $270,000.

"I doubt right now it's cracking $100,000," Flowers said.

Rajeev Dhawan, director of Georgia State University's Economic Forecasting Center, says: "I think the chances of us being big spenders in the next 10 years are pretty low."

So much household wealth was inflated by the housing boom, Dhawan said, that the real estate bust spooked consumers. States hardest hit by the bust -- California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona -- together account for about 30 percent of national economic activity, he noted.

Household net worth -- the value of assets like homes, checking accounts and investments minus debts like mortgages and credit cards -- has risen for three straight quarters. But economists say consumers would need a stronger and prolonged increase in wealth to lead them to ratchet up spending. Net worth would have to rise an additional 21 percent just to get back to its pre-recession peak of $65.9 trillion.

Some economists put their hopes for the economy in the rich, who are spending more freely than the rest of the population. They hold out hope that this will encourage more hiring and stimulate spending by the less wealthy. More spending could increase companies' revenue, which allow them to boost hiring and pay. And that would lead their employees to spend more.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. returned to a first-quarter profit as more travelers vacationed on its ships and spent more money on board. And makers of luxury goods are benefiting from a release of pent-up demand for jewelry, watches and high-end furnishings.

High-end retailers have reported blowout results. Nordstrom's revenue in stores open at least one year jumped 16.8 percent last month. Saks' surged 12.7 percent.

McClaren Automotive has announced it will debut a $200,000 sports car in the U.S. next year. And business is picking up faster at high-end hotels than at mid-priced and budget hotels.

Whether spending by the wealthy will cause the less-well-off to spend freely, too, remains unclear. For now, though, many people have embraced a more frugal approach to spending.

Or maybe they've just learned to go without.

Jan Iris Smith, 57, and her husband of Cabin John, Md., put off furniture and clothing purchases after the stock market's collapse in early 2009.

"We were counting on our income from our investments," said Smith, a psychotherapist whose husband is retired. "We just stopped pretending everything was going to be OK anytime soon."


For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Fend Off That Collection Agency

Among debt collectors, Steven Katz is known as a “credit terrorist.” For years, he has run what he calls the Steven Katz School of Bill Collector Education, otherwise known as the “credit terrorist training camp.”

Mr. Katz, a 58-year-old accountant in suburban Tucson, spends his free time schooling debtors on the finer points of consumer protection law to help them turn the tables on debt collectors. On occasion, he thumbs his own nose at them too.

“How many times can I sue you? Let me count the ways,” he wrote under his pseudonym, Dr. Tax, in a March posting on Inside ARM, a debt collectors’ Web site.
A former bill collector himself, Mr. Katz rebelled after a debt buyer damaged his credit score with what he says was a bogus bill. Mr. Katz sued, and in 2003 he collected his first damage award, a $1,000 check that he now keeps framed behind his desk.

“The bill collectors, when they call, make you feel like the only option you have is to lay down and play dead. That’s not true,” said Mr. Katz said, who does not charge for his advice. “Nothing validates this more than getting a check.”

Call this movement revenge of the (alleged) deadbeats. Even as collectors try to recoup debts from millions of Americans struggling to pay their bills, a small but growing number of lawyers and consumers are fighting back against what they describe as harassment, unscrupulous practices — and, most important to their litigiousness, violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In fact, 8,287 federal lawsuits were filed citing violations of the act in 2009, a 60 percent rise over the previous year, according to WebRecon, a site that tracks collection-related litigation and the most litigious consumers and lawyers on behalf of debt collectors.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court made it even easier for consumers to use the courts to fight debt collectors, ruling that collectors cannot be shielded from suits by claiming they made a mistake in interpreting the law.

When a consumer stops paying a bill, creditors often try to collect on their own for a few months. In many instances, the creditor hires another company to collect the debt. In other cases, they may dispose of the debt by selling it to a debt buyer for a steep discount.

Debt collectors and debt buyers are the targets of litigious consumers, since the debt collection law primarily applies to third-party collectors.
Peter Barry, a Minneapolis trial lawyer, is so bullish on the future of debt collection litigation that he holds several “boot camps” each year to share his secrets with other lawyers who want in on the action. If the debtor wins a court case under the act, the debt collector must pay the lawyer’s fees.

The next boot camp is being held in early May in San Francisco, at a cost of $2,495 a person for two and a half days of instruction.
“I can’t sue every illegal debt collector in America, although I’d like to try,” Mr. Barry said.
Mr. Katz can also claim some credit for the increase in lawsuits. For six years, he has run a free Web site called Debtorboards.com, where people share tips on topics like keeping a paper trail and recording calls from collectors.

He said the site received two million hits in 2009, a 60 percent increase over the previous year.
“Debtorboards is geared to help people use the laws as they are on the books as both a shield and a sword,” said Mr. Katz, who says he has won $36,000 from his own litigation against collection agencies. (Since many of the settlements are confidential, it is difficult to prove the claims of Mr. Katz and others).

Of course, debt collectors are hardly pleased with the litigation trend.
Rozanne M. Andersen, chief executive of ACA International, a trade association for the debt collection industry, said she was “extremely concerned” about the increase in lawsuits, which she said cost her industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year. She said much of the increase was the result of ambiguous language in the Fair Debt Collection Act.

Debt collectors are required, for example, to identify themselves on a voice message left for a consumer, she said. But they are also prohibited from telling a third party — including someone who might overhear a phone message — about a consumer’s debt.
“We are between a rock and a hard place,” Ms. Andersen said.
Ms. Andersen said she had little patience for Web sites that encouraged consumers to thwart debt collectors.

“We believe those types of Web sites are encouraging people to not take responsibility for just debt,” she said.

Jack Gordon, who runs the fee-based WebRecon site, said it was no wonder lawsuits were increasing, because consumers were being bombarded with ads from lawyers when they searched online for information on debt collection. He said the proliferation of discussion sites like Mr. Katz’s had, to a lesser extent, also contributed to the trend.

On the boards, he said, “There’s a lot of hot air, a lot of people who overinflate their accomplishments.” Regardless, Mr. Gordon’s database has become a badge of honor among the devotees of Debtorboards.com. As Brandon Scroggin, a 37-year-old from Little Rock, Ark., puts it, “That’s one list I’m a proud card-carrying member of.”

Mr. Scroggin, who provides price estimates at a body shop, said he was the type of person who refused to be taken advantage of, even for petty offenses. For instance, years ago, he said he joined in the class-action suit against the pop group Milli Vanilli, accused of lip synching, and collected a $1.25 check.

After a messy divorce, Mr. Scroggin was stuck with a $7,000 bill that he said belonged to his ex-wife. Instead of paying it, he began researching the law and stumbled on Debtorboards.com.
Armed with lessons he learned on the site, he demanded proof of the debt from the collection agency, and the calls stopped. But two and a half years later, they started up again so he sued the collection agency, National Loan Recoveries, for failing to provide proof of the debt, among other things.

The case was settled in 2008. The terms were confidential, but he says he never paid National Loan a dime. “Let’s just say I’m a very happy person,” he said. A lawyer for National Loan, Kathryn Bridges, did not return messages seeking comment.

Mr. Katz said his Web site was not intended to help people avoid paying legitimate debts. But if they do so, so be it — he feels no need to apologize.

He said Congress gave consumers certain rights, and he is simply making people aware of them, sometimes colorfully.

As Mr. Katz says at the bottom of each Dr. Tax posting, “A telephone in the hands of a collector is like a crowbar — it can be used to pry a mouth open wide enough to insert a foot.”
Barbara Thompson, 46, of Atlanta, said she challenged $11,000 in credit card debt using online research about collection laws. She does not dispute the debts but reasons that the credit card company wrote off her charges long ago. By her account, she owes the credit card company, not the debt collector.

“The credit card company, they sell it off, they charge it off, it’s just business as usual,” she said, adding, “I’m adamant about not paying a collection agency.”

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Westchester NY Library Helps Seniors Save

Westchester Library System Helps Seniors Save a Buck with New Senior Benefits Information Centers:

Tarrytown, NY 2010 -- Today’s struggling economy has left many older adults facing financial hardship and filled with uncertainty when it comes to their healthcare. For those on a fixed income, saving money wherever possible has become increasingly important. The Westchester Library System’s (WLS) new Senior Benefits Information Centers (SBICs), located at libraries in Mount Kisco, Shrub Oak, Tarrytown, and Yonkers, offers older adults benefits counseling covering a broad range of topics including Medicare health and prescription plans, food stamps, HEAP, EPIC, weatherization, minor home repair, and tax relief programs.

WLS has partnered with the Medicare Rights Center and Westchester County’s Department of Senior Programs and Services to make the free one-on-one counseling available at four Westchester locations. SBICs are now open at the John C. Hart Memorial Library in Shrub Oak (Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10am to 1pm) and the Grinton I. Will Library in Yonkers (Mondays and Tuesdays from 10am to 1pm; Thursdays from 11am to 1pm). Grand openings are scheduled for The Warner Library in Tarrytown on April 21, 2010 and Mount Kisco Public Library on May 12, 2010. Counseling at both locations will be available on Wednesdays from 10am to 1pm.

“In this economy, everyone needs to save a buck – especially seniors,” said Robin Osborne, Director of WLS’s Office of Community Connections. “WLS’s SBICs help Westchester’s older adults hone in on the specific programs that qualify for – whether it’s related to healthcare, home care, or tax relief. Seniors receive one-on-one attention to have their questions answered and leave armed with the information they need to save.”

SBIC’s counselors address each visitor’s specific needs and guide them through a variety of online resources to identify their individual eligibility. All locations are equipped with a dedicated phone line to answer questions as well as computers and printers that enable seniors to leave with the appropriate information and referrals. In an effort to make SBIC services available to an even greater number of seniors, WLS is also exploring the possibility of expanding the program to other libraries in Westchester County.

Ann Acken, a senior citizen from Somers, recently visited the SBIC at the John C. Hart Memorial Library in Shrub Oak with questions about her Medicare coverage. "My experience was very enlightening. The volunteer counselor, Marna, was very patient and answered all of my questions."

Volunteer SBIC counselors are trained by the Medicare Rights Center and include retired professionals such as nurses, teachers, social workers. WLS and the Medicare Rights Center are seeking additional volunteers, particularly in the Northern Westchester area. Westchester residents who are interested should be at least 50 years old with excellent public speaking and interpersonal skills, be computer literate, and able to commit to a minimum of 12 hours per month. Some knowledge of the health care system and fluency in Spanish is a plus.

“The SBIC counseling program is especially important this year because many people are not aware of their eligibility for Medicare Savings Programs and savings available through other public benefits, such as Food Stamps,” said Lois Steinberg, Westchester Program Director for the Medicare Rights Center. “Our trained counselors can help them find the benefits they are eligible for and show them how to apply.”

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

OPINION: Obama Not Helping Seniors

Seniors get disrespect from Obama
By Letters to the Editor/Gloucester County ...

It appears that senior citizens are having a harsh awakening about what the government is inflicting upon them.

The value of Social Security benefits is shrinking. About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security.

The government claims there was no need for a 2010 cost-of-living increase in these benefits. Where do they obtain this misguided information? Everything is skyrocketing.

Medicare Part B premiums that most Social Security recipients pay are expected to rise, yet there was no cost-of-living increase.

Did you know the retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in Parkersburg, W. Va., where the Social Security Administration is expected to start cashing in $2.5 trillion worth of IOUs from the federal government?

Social Security previously collected more from payroll taxes each year than it paid out in benefits. But this year, there is a projected $29 billion shortfall.

The federal government has already spent the IOU money over the years on other programs. This money should belong to the people who invested into the system. Wouldn’t you call such stealing a federal offense?

Our country is overwhelmed. We took a bad slide when we allowed millions of illegal immigrants to invade and stay in this country. Our schools are overloaded. Who is paying the taxes if these immigrants are not?

I’m sure there are many seniors without health care or who could use more help to survive.

We need to rid this country of these illegal immigrants. Let them wait their turn to enter this country, as our ancestors did.

We are entirely too lenient with our laws. Our systems are drying up. That’s why all the states are going broke.

Our seniors don’t deserve the disrespect they have sustained from President Barack Obama. He can print trillions of dollars to bail out the banks and other corporations, but he can’t find the funds to give seniors a modest cost-of-living raise.

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Senior Drug Costs May Decline with New Bill

The Sunlight Foundation reports on a "last minute deal" between pharmaceutical companies and health care reformers. The upshot? Old people covered by Medicare matter more than poor people covered by Medicaid.

According to the Associated Press, Senator Max Baucus stated in an interview that the pharmaceutical industry agreed to provide an additional $10 billion to cover the coverage gap in Medicare Part D known as the “donut hole” in exchange for eliminating the expansion of drug discounts at certain health facilities initially included in the Senate health care bill.

The Senate health care bill would have expanded drug discounts under a Medicaid program that serves over 14,000 covered facilities. The Medicaid 340B program provides outpatient discounts on brand name drugs to a variety of health facilities that serve low-income communities. The provision removed in the reconciliation bill would have expanded access to the discount program to cover inpatient drug purchases....

More here. Big PhRma spent about $100 million in "grassroots" activity and advertising in favor of health care reform.

The AP notes the following:

"Pharma came out of this better than anyone else," said Ramsey Baghdadi, a Washington health policy analyst who projects a $30 billion, 10-year net gain for the industry. "I don't see how they could have done much better."

Costly brand-name biotech drugs won 12 years of protection against cheaper generic competitors, a boon for products that comprise 15 percent of pharmaceutical sales. The industry will have to provide 50 percent discounts beginning next year to Medicare beneficiaries in the "doughnut hole" gap in pharmaceutical coverage, but those price cuts plus gradually rising federal subsidies will mean more elderly people will purchase more drugs.

Lobbyists beat back proposals to allow importation of low-cost medicines and to have Medicare negotiate drug prices with companies. They also defeated efforts to require more industry rebates for the 9 million beneficiaries of both Medicare and Medicaid, and to bar brand-name drugmakers' payments to generic companies to delay the marketing of competitor products.


For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Elder Americans Need to Watch Florida Lawmakers

The St. Petersburg Times reports:

Elderly Floridians who want to stay out of nursing homes would be forced into managed care under two bills passed this week by the House in an effort to pare Medicaid costs.

But the Legislature's own policy analysts suggest that managed care may actually be more expensive for frail older people, based on the current track record of HMOs.

A recent report examined a managed care program that provides home health care, housekeeping and many other at-home services, as well as assisted living when necessary. It did keep people out of nursing homes but was more expensive than two traditional programs, run by not for profit agencies, that cover the same services.

The state could save money by beefing up the traditional programs, the analysts said. The House bills would do just the opposite -- wiping out the traditional programs and putting elderly clients into managed care.

``It makes no sense,'' says Margaret Lynn Duggar, director of the Florida Council on Aging, which lobbies for the not-for-profit agencies that run the traditional programs. ``Legislative leaders have been convinced that managed care will save them money when the facts do not prove that out.''

The bills surfaced just a few weeks ago, said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Sunrise, and have not been well thought out.

``It actually will have the opposite effect of what we want to happen'' in the way of savings, Rich said, ``and that's what this (analysts) report is showing.''

The bills are a product of the House Select Policy Council on Strategic and Economic Planning, chaired by incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon. He could not be reached Monday for comment. Nor could vice chair Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring.

The House bills have no companion bill in the Senate but could be passed during budget negotiations. Incoming Senate Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, has made Medicaid reform ``an urgent priority'' for budget cutting. He could not be reached for comment.

Medicaid -- which provides health care to the poor -- is a huge, expanding chunk of the state budget. When it comes to younger adults and children, pilot projects have indicated that managed care might save money.

That's because those Medicaid clients go directly to their doctors and hospitals, who bill the state -- a system that sometimes results in excess services and outright fraud. Managed care companies receive a monthly stipend for each client, negotiate rates with health care providers and decide which services are really necessary.

Keeping frail, older people out of nursing homes works differently.

Clients wanting Medicaid to pay for home care or assisted living cannot pick their own services and are not entitled to care. A case manager always decides what services they need and how much it will cost.

Roughly 33,000 aged and disabled Floridians now receive these services from one of three Medicaid programs included in the analysis released in March by the Legislature's Office of Public Program Analysis and Government Responsibility.

It examined clients that entered those programs between 2005 and 2008 and calculated their total cost to Medicaid. The results for the two traditional, fee-for-service programs were:

• The Aged and Disabled Adult program, which provides at-home services like chores, respite care and home health care, cost $15,120 per client during that period, compared to $50,000 or more for a nursing home.

• The Assisted Living for the Elderly program, which pays for assisted living, cost $17,424.

• The managed care program, Nursing Home Diversion, provides both at-home and assisted living services in 30 counties cost $23,364 per client.

Average payment rates for the 16 companies that provide managed care to 14,000 clients have dropped a few thousand dollars a year since the period studied by Legislature's analysts, so these disparities would presumably be narrower today.

Still, Florida could save tens of millions of dollars a year by retaining and expanding the traditional programs instead of managed care, said Larry Polivka, a Pepper Foundation scholar in residence. He conducted similar studies of the three programs, with similar cost disparities, while running an aging research center at the University of South Florida.

``I have been in policy analysis for 25 years,'' Polivka said, ``and I have never seen clearer evidence for clear cost effectiveness of one approach over another.''

Among other things, he said, the not-for-profit agencies that run the traditional programs charge the state a few cents on the dollar for administrative overhead and benefit from volunteers.

By contrast, the state's most recent actuarial report projects that managed care companies will an average of 78 cents on the dollar on care this fiscal year, retaining 22 cents for overhead and profit.

The legislative analysis did note that the managed care program was more effective at delaying nursing home entry than the traditional programs.

But that had little fiscal impact. That's because most clients on all three programs usually live their lives out at home or in assisted living. Those few who do require a skilled nursing home are generally so incapacitated they live only a few months, so delaying their entry into the home by a few weeks does not save much money.

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Texas Healthcare Problems

HOUSTON - While President Obama presses for a health care vote, some senior citizens here in Houston are finding it tough to get into a doctor’s office.

Already, about one-third of doctors won’t take Medicaid patients, who are generally too poor to afford private insurance.

Now, some are also saying “no” to Medicare, the safety net for older Americans.

“I've never felt like I wouldn't get care, ever in my life,” says Sandy Vise, who has been on Medicare for 2 years. “This is just devastating for me.”

As a benefits administrator, Vise spent two decades giving advice on health insurance.

Now, she’s the one asking questions.

After her long-time primary care physician left Texas, Vise got two recommendations from friends.

“I called,” she says. “Neither one of them will take me because I'm a Medicare patient.”

Vise and her employer paid Medicare taxes her whole career.

So she was stunned to learn how Dr. Mina Sinacori views the government health program for senior citizens.

“Medicare is charity care,” says Sinacori. “We love our Medicare patients, we want to provide for our older patients, but physicians simply cannot afford to.”

Sinacori, an OB/GYN, says Medicare’s current reimbursement doesn’t even cover her costs.

And unless Congress acts by April 1, those reimbursements will be cut by 21.2-percent.

“With further reductions in payment,” says Sinacori, “we're going to see fewer and fewer physicians taking Medicare patients.”

This, as 78-million baby boomers hit retirement age starting next year.

Maybe that’s why President Barack Obama mentioned Medicare by name, in his full-court press to pass a health care bill by next Thursday.

“Reining in waste and inefficiencies,” says Obama, “we are going to be able to help ensure Medicare’s solvency for an additional decade.”

Mina Sinacori sees universal coverage as a noble goal but says Uncle Sam’s Medicare is not what the doctor ordered.

“If you think of it as a pilot program for national health care, it has failed, failed miserably.”

Congress keeps postponing that 21.2-percent Medicare pay cut; the latest proposal would put it off until October.

To doctors, that’s a bunch of Bandaids on a policy that requires surgery

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

DON'T fall for this scam

Police Departments became aware of a scam targeting senior citizens and Medicare recipients.

The scam involves a caller claiming to be from the Medicare office stating that there has been a glitch in their computer system. The caller states that the recipients need to re-verify their card information which is the recipient's Social Security number ending in a letter. The callers are also asking recipients to verify their bank routing numbers.

By no means should any individual give this information out over the phone, say local law enforcement officials. Suspects can use this information to open accounts or access bank records.

Remember that any caller asking for Social Security numbers, bank routing numbers, full names and dates of birth are likely to be scams or attempts at identity theft. If you've experienced this scam or feel that you have been a victim of a scam please call your local law enforcement agency immediately.

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Free Booklet: Fight Identity Theft & More

March 10, 2010

The elderly are among the first targets of scam artists. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is using National Consumer Protection Week this week to offer guides on how to avoid becoming a victim.

• The guide, "Every Cent Counts -- for Senior Citizens," offers information about credit and debt problems, difficulty paying a mortgage and how to combat identity theft. Get it at IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov or by calling (800) 386-5438 to request a copy by mail.


For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Not Every Nursing Home is Safe !!!

Tulsa, OK: Last month the New York Times published an in-depth exposé of elder abuse at many US care facilities. The story prompted the Senate Finance Committee to launch an investigation into patient deaths and allegations of substandard treatment.
According to the New York Times report, the Senate investigation will focus on Select Medical Corporation, which operates 89 long-term for-profit care hospitals across the US and boasts more facilities than any other company.

The Times detailed an incident that allegedly occurred at a Select facility in Kansas, in which a dying patient's heart alarm sounded for more than an hour before help arrived. By the time nursing staff finally responded, the patient had been in distress for 77 minutes.

On March 8, Senators Max Baucus (D-Montana, the committee’s chairman) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the panel's senior Republican, demanded that Select provide more information about the allegations. Select Medical indicates it would cooperate fully with the inquiry, although a spokeswoman claimed that Select viewed the Times article as misleading and inaccurate.

Other complaints lodged against Select and subject to investigation come from former employees of the company, who have detailed a discharge policy that seems to put profit ahead of patient well-being.

Under Medicare rules, hospitals that treat patients for 25 days or longer earn higher Medicare payments. Former Select employees allege that the company presses to keep patients for 25 days, then tries to discharge them almost immediately in an effort to maximize profitability. At some Select hospitals, the New York Times reported, the twenty-fifth day is known as the "magic day."

In a lawsuit concerning the death of 79-year-old Ruth Tanner, a patient in a Select hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a doctor provided a deposition claiming that nurses at the facility injected the "relatively-healthy" Tanner with 10 times the appropriate level of insulin, then waited 90 minutes after the woman had slipped into a coma before notifying her doctor. Tanner never regained consciousness, according to medical records and the lawsuit. She died in early 2009, a month after the incident.

The owners of Select have earned $400 million since founding the company in 1996. Recent company announcements revealed that profit margins had risen 19 percent in 2009, compared to 16 percent the year before. Cash flow increased by $54 million.

The Government Accountability Office has been asked to examine federal and state oversight of all long-term care hospitals.

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Making Cell Phones for Seniors

Among cell phone users in developed countries, IBM is betting the market with the biggest growth potential is...people over the age of 65?

It makes more sense than you'd think. According to recent findings, most of them already own cell phones, so it's not as if they're adverse to the technology. But unlike younger generations, who are seemingly targeted with a new cell phone gimmick every week, they're largely ignored on the marketing front--excepting a few efforts from Nokia and Samsung, which makes the senior-friendly Jitterbug

IBM's two-year research program, which also involves the National Institute of Design of India and Tokyo University, will explicitly focus on making cell phones easier to use, for both the elderly and the illiterate. Moreover, the software it develops will be open-source, so all governments and businesses can take advantage.

"As the population in Europe and North America ages, the need for specialized mobile devices will become acute," Ben Wood, research director at British consultancy CCS Insight, told Reuters. "Phone makers will have to adapt if they want to appeal to a generation that has grown up with mobile devices, but can't use them in the ways they used to."

In other words: MAKE THE BUTTONS BIGGER AND THE RINGTONES LOUDER, duh.


For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Common Scams Against Senior Citizens

Missouri Attorney General educating residents about consumer fraud

JOPLIN, MO. - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster talks about National Consumer Protection Week. Koster says seniors are often targeted for scams concerning everything from telemarketing to life insurance.

He says one of the most common schemes involves a company offering to improve your credit score for a fee.

"One of the important jobs of the Attorney General's office is to educate people and let them to know about consumer's scans that are effecting hundreds of thousands of Missourians every year," Koster says.

Koster says consumers with credit problems can get help free of charge or at a low cost through local consumer credit counseling services.

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Reverse Mortgages ~ Are They for You?

Those who qualify for a reverse mortgage may be able to reap more benefits from doing so than refinancing their home loan for a lower mortgage rate or mortgage payment. If you have equity in your home and are over the age of 62 you are able to get a reverse mortgage loan. However, it will depend on your personal situation as to whether it is in your best interest to do so or not.

A reverse mortgage basically gives you money based on your home’s value, your age, and how much, if any, you owe on your home, among other things. A reverse mortgage can be valuable if you owe little or no money on your home because the money from a reverse mortgage must first go toward your mortgage. If you qualify for a $200,000 reverse mortgage and owe $50,000 on your home, you only keep $150,000. Obviously, this is going to be helpful, as you have paid off your mortgage balance and have money left over.

In some cases, a reverse mortgage is going to be equal to or less than what you owe on your home, and can be helpful in this case as well. If a reverse mortgage goes toward what you owe on your home and still leaves money owed, depending on if the difference is affordable, you may be able to get rid of your mortgage payment. For instance, if the reverse mortgage pays off everything but $5,000 or $10,000 on your mortgage and you have that much saved, you can pay the rest on your mortgage and you no longer have a mortgage payment.

Keep in mind; even though a reverse mortgage can be very beneficial, it is debt. The homeowner doesn’t have to repay the reverse mortgage unless they move or the money isn’t owed as long as they are alive, but the debt could eat into the estate of the homeowner. If you are looking for money from you home later in life, do some research on reverse mortgages and look at your personal situation to see if a reverse mortgage is right for you.

For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524

Are Medicare Cuts in OUR Best Interest?

The California Medical Association said Friday it’s calling on Congress to “act immediately” to prevent deep Medicare cuts that are slated to take effect Monday, saying the 21 percent cuts to doctors’ reimbursement in the federal program “would hamper senior citizens’ access to care and force physicians to contemplate turning away patients or dropping out of the program altogether.”

However, Congress has adjourned for the weekend, so an immediate reprieve is unlikely. (The House of Representatives has passed a bill blocking the Medicare pay cut for doctors, but the U.S. Senate has not.)

The dance involving Medicare cuts and national and state medical associations’ anguished concerns over them is one that takes place every year in Washington, D.C. But this year, the debate over President Obama’s health reform package and Thursday’s Health Care Summit resulted in the issue getting shunted aside, at least for the moment.

The Sacramento-based CMA said the looming 21 percent cuts to doctors’ Medicare reimbursement -- meant to keep the overall system solvent over the long term -- are “unconscionable.” It joined the American Medical Association, AARP and other groups representing seniors and physicians to attack the pending cuts, and is encouraging its 35,000 physician members in the Golden State to contact U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and their congressional representatives about the issue.

“It’s unconscionable that Congress has not intervened to prevent this coming train wreck,” said Dr. Brennan Cassidy, the state medical association’s president. “Sadly, if these cuts take effect, senior citizens will have a tougher time getting access to a doctor because many physicians will not be able to afford to deliver care under Medicare.”

Proponents of the cuts argue that unless programs like Medicare and Medicaid are limited, they will consume ever-greater portions of the federal budget, threatening its overall solvency.


For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524