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Page 18 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020 S y Senior What Caregivers Should Sa e a C BY JIM MILLER Know About Medicare h i Seni nior ni r Shld ior Dear Savvy Senior, I am the caregiver for my 81-year-old mother, who recently fell and broke her hip, and have a lot of questions about how original Medicare works and what it covers. Where can I get some help understanding this program? Overwhelmed Caregiver Dear Caregiver, Excellent question! Having a working knowledge of Medicare can help you take full advantage of the coverage and services it provides to ensure your mom receives the best care possible. Here’s what you should know. Medicare Assistance A good starting point to get familiar with Medicare is the offi cial “Medicare & You” handbook that overviews the program. It’s mailed to all benefi ciaries every fall and provides an up-to-date description of all services and benefi ts. You can also see it online at Medicare.gov/ medicare-and-you. If you have a particular question, you can call and visit with a Medicare customer service representative at 800-633-4227. Medicare also works closely with State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP) to provide free health insurance counseling. To fi nd a SHIP counselor in your area visit ShiptaCenter.org or call 877-839-2675. Caregivers also fi nd Medicare’s secure website – MyMedicare.gov – especially useful. After setting up a personal account for your mom, you can view the details of her coverage, track recent health care claims and keep up to date on the preventive services she qualifi es for. Compare Tools Medicare can also help you locate the right health care providers for your mother. At Medicare.gov/care-compare you can fi nd and compare doctors, hospitals, home health agencies, dialysis facilities, inpatient rehab facilities, long-term care hospitals and nursing homes in your mom’s area. What Medicare Covers Medicare can reduce many out-of-pocket medical expenses your mom incurs, but it doesn’t cover everything. Understanding what Medicare does and doesn’t cover can save you time and spare you frustration when navigating the caregiving maze. Here are some key points for caregivers: Besides basic hospital and physician services (which includes telehealth services) and optional prescription drug benefi ts, Medicare covers home health care too. To qualify, your mom must be homebound, under a physician’s care and in need of part-time skilled nursing care or rehabilitative services like physical therapy. Medicare also helps pay for oxygen, catheters and other medical supplies that a doctor prescribes for home use. The same is true for medically necessary equipment like oxygen machines, wheelchairs and walkers. In addition, Medicare covers skilled care in a nursing home for limited periods – up to 100 days – following hospital stays. But it doesn’t cover long-term stays. Patients who need custodial care (room and board) must pay out of pocket unless they’re eligible for Medicaid or have private long-term care insurance. Medicare pays for hospice care too, for someone with a terminal illness whose doctor expects to live six months or less. The hospice benefi t also includes brief periods of respite care at a hospice facility, hospital or nursing home to give the patient’s caregivers an occasional rest. Besides long-term nursing home stays, original Medicare typically doesn’t cover regular dental care or dentures, regular eye exams or eyeglasses, and hearing exams and hearing aids. Likewise, it won’t pay for nonemergency ambulance trips unless a doctor certifi es they’re medically necessary. To fi nd out what Medicare covers, visit Medicare.gov/coverage and type in the test, item or service you have questions about, or download the Medicare “What’s covered” app in either the App Store or Google Play. Financial Assistance If your mom lives on a limited income, you should check whether she qualifi es for help with prescription drug costs or with other Medicare-related premiums, deductibles and copayments. For help with drug costs, visit SSA.gov/prescriptionhelp or contact Social Security at 800-772-1213 and ask about the “Extra Help Program.” For help with other Medicare costs, go to Medicare.gov or call 800-6334227 and ask about the “Medicare Savings Programs.” Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. HILL ROLL | FROM PAGE 17 mittee report completely ignored the historic consensus that had been achieved between law enforcement and the Black and Latino caucus.” “We look forward to being part of future commissions into the procurement and use of body cameras, a statewide cadet program, and impacts of emergency hospitalization,” continued the letter. “However, a lack of proper examination and study into a number of crucial portions of this bill will result in collateral damage that will have a negative impact on many of our communities.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. RoseLee VincentYes Rep. Donald WongYes Sen. Brendan Crighton Yes BAKER VETOES BILL TO INCREASE ABORTION ACCESS (H 5179) House 107-50, Senate on a voice vote without a roll call vote, approved the bill that would allow abortions after 24 weeks in the case of lethal fetal anomalies and lower the age from 18 to 16 at which a minor can choose to have an abortion without parental or judicial consent. The House and Senate sent the bill back to Gov. Baker after they rejected several of his proposed amendments including raising the age of consent back to 18. This time, Baker vetoed the entire bill. The House and Senate are poised to override the bill—they have suffi cient support in each branch to do so. “I strongly support a woman’s right to access reproductive health care, and many provisions of this bill,” said Baker in a letter that accompanied his veto. ”I support, for example, the provision that would enable a woman to access an abortion where the child would not survive after birth, and the modifi cations to the judicial bypass process that make it more accessible to minors who are unable to obtain the consent of a parent or guardian. I also support the changes that eliminate many outdated requirements and the 24-hour waiting period.” “However, I cannot support the sections of this proposal that expand the availability of later-term abortions and permit minors age 16 and 17 to get an abortion without the consent of a parent or guardian,” continued Baker. “I again urge the Legislature to enact the compromise version … [that I proposed] that would affi rmatively protect a woman’s right to access an abortion but would restore the existing framework around late-term abortions and parental consent.” “Gov. Baker’s veto of this legislation demonstrates a callous and dangerous disregard for the health and wellbeing of the people of the commonwealth,” read a statement from the ROE Act Coalition which includes the ACLU of Massachusetts, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts. “With this veto, the governor has made plain that he has no problem imposing medically unnecessary barriers that delay and deny care and forcing families to fl y across the country to get compassionate care. Our abortion laws are broken, and with two recent actions against equitable abortion access, Gov. Baker is upholding our broken system.” “These provisions are supported by large majorities in both chambers, and we respectfully call on the Legislature to override the governor’s veto,” continued the statement. “Unlike Gov. Baker, legislators understand that merely affi rming the abstract right to safe, legal abortion is not enough; we must protect and improve abortion access so every person can get the care they need. It is up to the Legislature to once again lead where Gov. Baker has failed.” “House Speaker DeLeo is spending his Christmas Eve tripling down on abortion extremism, promising that he will fi ght for young girls to have abortions and babies born alive can be left to die,” said Massachusetts Family Institute President Andrew Beckwith. “Santa is going to run out of coal fi lling his stocking.” “Gov. Baker was correct to veto this amendment,” said Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle. “The entire rationale for it was bogus.” “Nothing President Donald Trump’s appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court may do regarding Roe v. Wade will have any impact on the 1981 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Moe v. Hanley, which established a right to abortion under the Massachusetts Constitution,” Doyle continued. “This measure was always about agitprop, fundraising and muscle fl exing by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, who have successfully exploited and monetized liberal paranoia about Donald Trump and the Supreme Court.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill expanding abortion. A “No” vote is against it. The Senate did not hold a roll call on the bill last week. The senators’ votes listed are from November 18 when the Senate fi rst approved the measure by a 33-7 vote.) Rep. RoseLee VincentNo Rep. Donald WongNo Sen. Brendan Crighton Yes HEALTH CARE AND TELEHEALTH (S 2984) House 157-0, Senate 40-0, approved and sent to Gov. Baker, a conference committee report of a bill that sponsors say will increase access to health care, protect patients and enhance quality care. The bill requires behavioral health treatment delivered via telehealth to be permanently reimbursed by insurers at the same rate as in-person services. A similar reimbursement structure will also be implemented for primary care and chronic disease management services delivered via telehealth for two years. All other telehealth care services will be reimbursed at the same rate as in-person services for the duration of the COVID-19 state of emergency, and 90 days after its expiration. It also eliminates “surprise billing,” the much-criticized practice of charging unsuspecting patients who received health care services outside of their insurance plan’s network for costs that insurers refuse to pay. Other provisions would allow registered nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and psychiatric nurse mental health specialists who meet specifi c education and training standards to practice independently; recognize pharmacists as health care providers, enabling them to integrate more fully into coordinated care teams; allow Massachusetts optometrists to treat glaucoma; and ensure that critical services related to treatment of COVID-19 would be covered by insurance carriers, including MassHealth, at no cost to consumers. “[We are] pleased the House and Senate conference committee fi nalized a health care bill that takes important steps to protect consumers and ensure access to health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond,” said Amy Rosenthal, Executive Director of Health Care For All. “We commend legislative leaders for making progress on important policies that are critical to the health and health care of millions of Massachusetts residents, and we thank the conferees for their work during a very challenging time.” “This conference committee report embraces the best of both the Senate and House bills to create comprehensive and necessary healthcare reforms,” said Sen. Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington), Senate chair of the Committee on Health Care Financing. “While there is still more to do to improve patient outcomes and access to care, this bill takes a meaningful step forward by ensuring that the commonwealth’s healthcare system can continue to meet the needs of patients during this unprecedented time, and long after the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.” “The conference report continues to advance our goal of transforming mental health care access and delivery in Massachusetts,” said Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Truro), House chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. “This legislation will do so much good, but particularly it will expand mental health care access for rural residents, people of color, working families, and young people.” Lora Pellegrini, President of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans (MAHP) said the group is a strong supporter of ensuring telehealth services for the members and the employers it serves. “Telehealth has been an important tool to ensure members have continued access to provider services during closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In order for telehealth to truly deliver on its promise of increased access to high-quality care at lower costs, it is imperative that market-based negotiations set the reimbursement rate and any extension of mandated rates of payment be time-limited. We applaud the conference committee for ensuring that some telehealth services can be negotiated after the current state of emergency, but we are concerned that it will require health plans to reimburse for other services at the same rate as in-person visits for two years.” “While we are pleased with other provisions in the bill, such as the increased Medicaid payment rates for community hospitals, MAHP is disappointed that the fi nal conferHILL ROLL | SEE PAGE 21

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