January 20, 2012 Julie Govert Walter, Executive Director

Julie Ann Midgley, Communications Specialist

785-776-9294 · juliem@ncfhaaa.com

New Preventive Benefits that Help Medicare Beneficiaries Stay Healthy

Five new preventive benefits are free for Medicare beneficiaries in 2012

New York, NY—It’s 2012, and to help people fulfill their New Year’s resolutions to lead healthier lives, the Medicare Rights Center and the North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging (NC-FH AAA) want to remind Medicare beneficiaries of the new and existing preventive services that are available to them at no cost. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) added five new preventive benefits to its roster of free services for Medicare beneficiaries. The new preventive services include:

• Annual depression screening for all Medicare beneficiaries;
• Intensive obesity screening and behavioral counseling to help Medicare beneficiaries who are obese lose weight and sustain weight loss through proper diet and exercise;
• Annual cardiovascular screening, which gives primary care providers the opportunity to screen for high blood pressure, provide counseling around maintaining a healthy diet, and when appropriate, recommend taking aspirin;
• Annual alcohol misuse screening for all Medicare beneficiaries, as well as counseling sessions for individuals found to be misusing alcohol; and
• STD/STI screening for Medicare beneficiaries that fit certain risk factors.

“Preventive services are an integral part of high-quality, patient-centered health care, especially for older adults and people with disabilities,” says Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center. “Because of efforts by CMS to effectively implement the Affordable Care Act, people with Medicare are able to better access preventive services and save money.”

In addition to accessing these new preventive benefits, Medicare beneficiaries will continue to be able to receive those free preventive benefits added in 2011, including mammograms, colonoscopies and the Annual Wellness Visit. Learn more about Medicare preventive benefits on Medicare Interactive, www.medicareinteractive.org. The toll-free number to reach Area Agencies on Aging in Kansas is 866-457-2364.

“Heart disease is a big issue for many Kansans—the annual cardio screening along with other new benefits are certainly good news for Kansans on Medicare,” said Julie Govert Walter, Executive Director of the NC-FH AAA. “Medicare experts at Area Agencies on Aging are ready to listen and help anyone on Medicare get answers to their Medicare questions at no charge.”

Medicare beneficiaries will not pay any coinsurance or deductible for these preventive services. Beneficiaries with Medicare private health plans, otherwise known as Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, will also pay no out-of-pocket costs for these preventive services if they see network doctors. However, cost-sharing may apply if the primary care provider makes a diagnosis during a service or does additional tests or procedures.

Tax reform received much of the spotlight this week at the Capitol.  However, there was also an opportunity to hear and participate in KanCare discussion at the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee meetings.

K4A's position on KanCare is that we support the goal of building more health capacity in Kansas communities and reducing stays in nursing facilities, however, managed care is not a silver bullet.  We are concerned about accountability at the managed care level.  We are concerned about seniors having access to quality care when it is needed.  Well-thought-out policies will need to be developed to support KanCare.  We look forward to working with the Legislature and State agencies to ensure seniors' concerns are heard.

Thank you!

The Governor delivered his State of the State message Wednesday night.  The message was packed full of agenda items, including tax reforms, school financing changes, Medicaid reform, and other significant changes.

While we're tracking several bills, the bulk of my time this week has been spent reviewing the Governor's Budget for FY2012 and FY2013.  In addition, I continue to follow the Medicaid Managed Care KanCare activity and am scheduled to testify on Thursday, January 19, at the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.  Our position on KanCare is that we support the goal of building more health capacity in Kansas communities and reducing stays in nursing facilities, however, managed care is not a silver bullet.  We are concerned about accountability at the managed care level.  We are concerned about seniors having access to quality care when it is needed.  Well-thought-out policies will need to be developed to support KanCare.  We look forward to working with the Legislature and State agencies to ensure seniors' concerns are heard.

Thank you!

Meeting the Needs of Older Kansans

Please visit our webpage at www.k4a.org.  A January 5, 2012 Legislative Update is available.

Thank you!