Tag: Seniors

Biden Enables The Fraud

This is one of my FYI posts for I watch policies that could effect our seniors….the biggest thing that seniors need to be aware of is the ‘medicare advantage plans’….they are not all they are cracked up to be.

I have made my thoughts known about these so-called Medicare Advantage plans….I think it is taking advantage of seniors who are worried about their aging body.

But as usual the insurance industry has spent its cash well….all the facts point to these ‘advantage” plans are little more than a scam….the president has allowed this raping of seniors to continue.

Medicare Advantage providers whined for months that they simply couldn’t survive without being able to rip off the government, so the government said ‘you can rip us off for just a little longer,'” The American Prospect‘s David Dayen tweeted in response to the CMS announcement.

The changes involve tweaks to the Medicare Advantage risk-adjustment model, which determines how much the federal government pays insurers to cover patient care.

Medicare Advantage plans are notorious for piling on diagnoses to make patients appear sicker than they are to reap larger payments from the federal government. CMS estimates that overpayments to Medicare Advantage totaled $11.4 billion in fiscal year 2022, a sizeable drain on the Medicare trust fund.

“Nearly every large insurer in the program has settled or is facing a federal fraud lawsuit for such conduct,” The New York Timesnoted Friday. “Evidence of the overpayments has been documented by academic studies, government watchdog reports, and plan audits.”

…

Medicare Advantage insurers have been fighting the Biden administration’s proposed changes for months, running ads warning that the reforms would result in higher premiums and worse care for patients—claims that federal health officials adamantly rejected.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-medicare-advantage-reforms

The lobbyists for the insurance industry has buckets on money to throw at Congress we, the people, do not.

Plus Wall Street is happy with the Biden decision….

UnitedHealth Group, a dominant force in the lucrative Medicare Advantage market, has seen its stock jump over the past week as Wall Street analysts and investors embrace the Biden administration’s decision to delay reforms aimed at tackling abuse in the privately run, government-funded health program.

STATreported late last week that “Wall Street was overjoyed” by the announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which said it would phase in changes to the model that dictates how much government funding Medicare Advantage insurers receive to cover patient care.

Instead of implementing the changes all at once, the Biden administration will roll out the reforms over a three-year period, allowing Medicare Advantage insurers to continue overbilling the federal government in the meantime.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/wall-street-biden-medicare-advantage

Oh there is AARP to protect seniors….that is a lie for they endorse a ‘plan’ that is scamming their members.

Please if you are considering one of these ‘plans’ think twice and check out the evidence before wasting your cash.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

Be Well….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–08Mar23

Scamming our seniors.

My regular visitors know that since I am an old fart I try to keep an eye on the scams and policies that will effect most people as they retire.

The insurance industry is getting worse by the year….they have been scamming seniors for decades and it just gets worse with the passing of time.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a report Wednesday highlighting the splashy incentives—from luxury vacations to cash bonuses—that private insurance companies offer agents and brokers for enrolling seniors in potentially higher-cost Medigap plans.

Medigap is federally regulated supplemental health insurance offered by for-profit companies such as UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and Aetna.

According to Warren, the Medigap marketplace is rife with “incentive trips and other perks for brokers and agents” who—in pursuit of such rewards—could be motivated to “push seniors into the most expensive Medigap plans, regardless of whether those plans meet their needs.”

The senator found that the estimated 32 private companies that entice agents with vacations and other incentives to boost Medigap sales provided the supplemental insurance to around 6.6 million people in the U.S. in 2021 and raked in nearly $16 billion in premiums from beneficiaries that year.

Warren acknowledged that her report “may underestimate the prevalence of incentives and rewards in the Medigap insurance industry” given that insurers and third-party companies are often not transparent about their incentive practices.

In a statement, Warren lamented the weak federal and state regulations that are giving insurance giants “free rein to scam millions of seniors in Medigap, offering agents lavish vacations to steer unknowing beneficiaries into more expensive plans.”

“Regulators must act to make sure seniors aren’t getting fleeced,” said Warren, who noted that around 40% of Medigap enrollees had less than $40,000 in annual income in 2018.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/warren-insurance-medigap-scam

I have always thought that these so-called “advantage’ plans were nothing more than a scam to screw seniors out of what money they have….these insurance toads are unfeeling ass wipes…..and that includes the senior’s best friend, AARP….which pushes their own brand of ‘advantage’ policies.

Keep an eye on your finances there are slugs that will come for your money.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2023 Medicare Cuts Pending

As a retired senior I am constantly watching for news on Medicare so that I can bring the news to my senior readers…..a public service from IST….

In 2023 we will have a new Congress and there is already cuts on the books to Medicare without the silliness from the GOP.

If you are a senior that depends on Medicare for your medical needs you need to read this and be aware of the changes we are looking at for the coming year.

New changes are set to come to Medicare next year. They will likely make expenses tighter for doctors, and put vital healthcare out of reach for some older patients. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, announced several policy changes in early November that will come into effect at the beginning of next year.

Among them are Medicare cuts to doctors through the Physician Fee Schedule, which is used to determine which services doctors are reimbursed for, and how much they get. Medicare reimbursement will decrease by about 4.5%, and ​​surgical care will face a nearly 8.5% cut.

“It’s affecting how doctors can run their businesses,” Christian Shalgain, Director of Advocacy and Health Policy at the American College of Surgeons, told Insider. “I’ve talked to doctors who are saying, ‘I have to decide whether to hire a new person or buy a new piece of equipment.’ That’s a significant problem from a patient’s perspective.”

If healthcare providers get less money through Medicare, they won’t be able to hire as many nurses, doctors, and other staff, as well as fund necessary equipment for services. It affects the quality of care patients are able to get, and can even impact how many Medicare patients a healthcare provider can take on, Shalgain said.

In years past, Congress has been able to postpone these preplanned cuts until the next year, varyingly achieving full scraps of the plan, or reduced cuts. Doctors’ groups lobby annually for Congress to intervene, because they say that it stretches their budgets thin, which is especially a problem given that hospitals are already strained from COVID and healthcare costs are skyrocketing. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/medicare-cuts-affect-seniors-healthcare-medicaid-social-security-funding-2022-11

The good news is that your insulin may be more affordable….the bad news is the rest of your health needs will be more expensive.

Before you get excited maybe you should read this……

Peace and economic justice advocates responded to the imminent unveiling Friday of the United States Air Force’s new $750 million-per-plane nuclear bomber by reiterating accusations of misplaced priorities in a nation where tens of millions of people live in poverty and lack adequate healthcare coverage.

Military-industrial complex giant Northrop Grumman is set to introduce its B-21 Raider on Friday. The B-21, whose development was 30 years in the making and whose total project cost is expected to exceed $200 billion, is tapped to replace the aging B-2 Spirit.

“One thing the world definitely does not need is another stealth bomber,” Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the peace group CodePink,

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/12/02/millions-americans-lack-adequate-health-coverage-pentagon-has-new-nuclear-bomber

That’s right we will get stale bread crumbs and the M-IC gets champagne…..

And you vote for these people….shame on you!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Dementia–A Growing Problem

It is Sunday and I would like to offer up a little FYI to help my readers navigate life and its pitfalls.

A growing problem with the elderly is the growing incidents of dementia among the retired and elderly.

It appears that 10% of our seniors are fighting dementia…..

The first nationally representative study of the prevalence of cognitive decline in the US that has been carried out in more than two decades found that 10% of Americans over the age of 65 have dementia and another 22% have mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The study, published in JAMA Neurology, specifically aimed to find out how prevalent cognitive issues were by age, education, ethnicity, gender, and race, and it found that Black people were more likely to have dementia (their rates were 15% for dementia and 22% for MCI), CNN reports. Hispanic people were found to be more likely to suffer from MCI (28%, and their rate for dementia was 10%), and both conditions were more common in people with less than a high school level of education (13% for dementia, 30% for MCI).

“Dementia research in general has largely focused on college-educated people who are racialized as white,” the lead study author says in a statement. “This study is representative of the population of older adults and includes groups that have been historically excluded from dementia research but are at higher risk of developing cognitive impairment because of structural racism and income inequality.” The randomly selected sample of study participants completed a survey and had neurological testing done between 2016 and 2017. Among white people, 9% were found to have dementia and 21% were found to have MCI. Those same rates were also true of people with college degrees.

The study found that each year of additional education was associated with a diminished risk of dementia, the Hill reports. No significant difference was found in the rates of men versus women with dementia or MCI. The rates did, however, change dramatically with age: 3% of those between 65 and 69 were found to have dementia compared to 35% for those aged 90 or above; a higher risk of both conditions was found with every five-year difference in age. While it is not uncommon for people with MCI to go on to develop dementia, not everyone does, and interventions related to diet, exercise, sleep, and stress can improve MCI. Another recent study estimated that if more isn’t done, dementia cases could almost triple by 2050.

There are many people that have the answer as to why dementia is gaining on our seniors….this is one of those possible causes…

Before they plop on the couch to engage in some “leisure-time sedentary behaviors,” adults over 60 may want to pay attention to a recent study linking increased dementia risk to watching TV. In short, per the Washington Post, “those whose time sitting was primarily spent watching television had a 24% increased risk for dementia.” But wait, that’s not the only takeaway. The peer-reviewed study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also found that computer use was associated with a 15% reduced risk of dementia. The simple explanation is that nothing beats television when it comes to cognitively passive activities; by contrast, using a computer requires at least some level of cognitive engagement, not unlike the antiquated activity known as reading.

Researchers tapped the UK’s Biobank to build the study cohort of some 146,651 individuals, whom they tracked for about 12 years, controlling for numerous lifestyle and demographic variables along the way, according to MD Edge. High use of TV—at least 4 hours per day—correlated to the highest risk of dementia, while as little as 30 minutes of computer use yielded reduced risk. “What we do while we’re sitting matters,” study lead David Raichlen noted, per Science Daily. “This knowledge is critical when it comes to designing targeted public health interventions aimed at reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disease from sedentary activities.”

In a slight twist compared to previous studies, researchers found that participants’ level of physical activity did not affect their odds of developing dementia if in fact they also watched a lot of TV. As for why computer use is beneficial, one notable neurologist—Dr. Andrew E. Budson, who was not associated with the study—explained to MD Edge that even light cognitive activity on the computer engages important parts of the cerebral cortex. While Dr. Budson emphasized that physical activity is always preferable to sedentary behavior, he added, “This is one of the first times I’ve been convinced that even when the computer activity isn’t completely new and novel, it may be beneficial.”

I know with all that nay-saying….what can we do to prevent the slide into the dark world of dementia?

Glad you asked….

https://bestlifeonline.com/daily-flossing-dementia-prevention-news/

I hope this info will help you now or in the future….since as we grow older there are many obstacles that seniors need to overcome….

I just try to help.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Let’s Defraud Seniors

This is post is for all those Americans that have had their 50th birthday surely they have received their official letter inviting them to join AARP (where did they get your birthday info)……

The big deal these days is that Medicare Advantage plans for us pre-dementia seniors….to me they seem like a scam and not worth the cash they cost….seems I am not the only one with such thoughts….

I recently wrote about the deceptions that insurance companies are pulling on seniors…

Those MediCare Advantage Plans

Now further info has been given to help seniors know what is being done to rip them off…..

Insurance giants are exploiting Medicare Advantage—a corporate-managed program that threatens to result in the complete privatization of traditional Medicare—to capture billions of dollars in extra profits, Saturday reporting by The New York Times confirmed.

The newspaper’s analysis of dozens of lawsuits, inspector general reports, and watchdog investigations found that overbilling by Medicare Advantage (MA) providers is so pervasive it exceeds the budgets of entire federal agencies, prompting journalist Ryan Cooper to call the program “a straight up fraud scheme.”

Nearly half of Medicare’s 60 million beneficiaries are now enrolled in MA plans managed by for-profit insurance companies, and it is expected that most of the nation’s seniors will be ensnared in the private-sector alternative to traditional Medicare by next year. Six weeks ago, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) launched an inquiry into “potentially deceptive” marketing tactics used by MA providers to “take advantage” of vulnerable individuals.

As the table below shows, almost every major player in the industry has been accused of fraud by a whistleblower or the U.S. government. In addition, the vast majority are engaged in rampant upcoding, or exaggerating patients’ illnesses in order to reap more money from taxpayers—something they do while refusing to provide necessary care for tens of thousands each year.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/10/09/straight-fraud-data-confirms-private-insurers-use-medicare-advantage-steal-billions

Seniors should research this before they commit to a monthly deduction to their Social Security benefits.

Remember if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is just that….too good to be true.

Please do not fall for the glowing promos….you need to be more vigilant for these parasites will suck you monetarily dry.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–20Sep22

This an FYI for all my retired seniors that get a Social Security payment monthly….a must read to understand the news of the largest COLA in decades.

Our seniors got some good news recently…..it appears as if there will be a good substantial COLA for next year.

When we last read the tea leaves in May, it was looking like seniors could be looking at an 8.6% adjustment to their monthly Social Security checks in 2023. The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) happens in October, and with just one month to go, the predicted increase has ticked up. The New York Times reports the Senior Citizens League is now projecting an 8.7% increase for next year. The Social Security Administration will make its announcement on Oct. 13. Our story from May 2022 follows:

Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) doesn’t happen until October, and it’ll be based on the previous three months of inflation numbers. But a forecast from the Senior Citizens League indicates those Social Security checks could see a big hike. CBS News reports the advocacy group for older Americans projected an 8.6% increase for 2023 based on the Consumer Price Index data for April that was released Wednesday. Consumer prices were up 8.3% last month from 12 months earlier, a slight decrease from March’s 8.5% annual increase. The COLA is calculated using a slight variation of that Consumer Price Index (CPI) called the CPI-W. The CPI-W was 8.9% in April.

Some 69 million Americans collect Social Security, and their average check is about $1,658 per month. Should that 8.6% hike come to pass, that would bring it to about $1,800 in 2023. As for the Senior Citizens League’s track record, it ultimately forecast a 6.1% COLA increase for 2022, versus an actual boost of 5.9%—an amount that isn’t keeping up with this year’s rate of inflation. The top three COLA increases since 1975 were 14.3% (1980), 11.2% (1981), and 9.9% (1979). An 8.6% increase would enter the list at No. 4. But it’s possible inflation will ease over the next five months. “I think the action at the Fed is going to slow things down,” Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at the Senior Citizens League, tells CNBC.

Not to worry the insurance companies and your c-pays will go up…..meaning that seniors will probably see a lot less of the raise than anticipated.

2023 will bring some major changes to the program…..

https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/09/18/3-changes-to-social-security-retirees-must-know/

Happens every time we get a good COLA….we lose most of it to the health industry….

https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/09/19/kiss-your-101-social-security-raise-goodbye-2023/

One of the worse scams in history….the American healthcare system.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Medicare Advantage

I try to be an FYI blog when I can…..

First let me say that I am not some old fart trying to sell you the idea that you cannot exist without spending more money to supplement your Medicare.

We see ad after ad these days telling us old farts just how much better life would be it we buying additional insurance policies.

What is ‘Medicare Advantage’?

Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, makes it possible for people with Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) to receive their Medicare benefits in an alternative way. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurance companies contracted with Medicare and provide at least the same level of coverage that Medicare Part A and Part B provide.

Personally I think it is all marketing which means I think it is a scam…..and an end run to try and privatize Medicare totally….

Medicare Advantage is a massive, trillion-dollar rip-off, of the federal government and of taxpayers, and of many of the people buying the so-called Advantage plans.

It’s also one of the most effective ways that insurance companies could try to kill Medicare For All, since about a third of all people who think they’re on Medicare are actually on these privatized plans instead.

Nearly from its beginning, Medicare has allowed private companies to offer plans that essentially compete with it, but they were an obscure corner of the market and didn’t really take off until the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress rolled out the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. This was the GOP’s (and a few corporatist Democrats’) big chance to finally privatize Medicare, albeit one bite at a time.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/09/08/medicare-advantage-profit-scam-time-end-it

If you are retired and considering a Medicare Advantage policy please read this article and do some deep research before giving your cash away.

Here is a place to start…..https://www.ehealthmedicare.com/medicare-advantage-articles/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-switching-to-a-medicare-advantage-plan/

Please do not be taken in by promises of spending less….there is always hidden caveats….do the hard research before giving your hard fought retirement away.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Scams On Us Old Farts

It is Sunday and on the weekends I try to be an FYI blog….since I am one of those old farts and many of my visitors are senior citizens or close to it I feel that I need to warn them about scams that target us older people.

I have been contacted by someone claiming that my SS account has been suspended….it is a scam and I did not fall for it…….there are others and this article pin points some of the most common….

Many scams are universal, from the IRS imposter who calls and threatens to arrest you if you don’t pay your taxes, to phishing emails that trick you into sending sensitive data or downloading malware onto your computer. But some types of fraud target older adults specifically or affect them disproportionately. Older adults may fall for certain scams because they are in the habit of answering calls from unknown callers, open junk mail rather than tossing it in the trash, or are not as practiced with the privacy settings on social media as younger generations.

“Older adults make great targets because they have accumulated assets over time and are living off their savings,” says Larry Santucci, who coauthored a report about elder financial victimization for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. “Some are also very lonely or socially isolated, which makes them susceptible to exploitation.” Moreover, cognitive decline—which hampers your ability to gauge risk or sense that something is awry—starts seeping in as early as your 50s. It may lead to diminished financial capacity, compromising your ability to handle your own money.

Here are six scams that you and your parents should watch out for.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/6-scams-that-prey-on-the-elderly\

Please be careful when you are contacted by any of these scams…..DO NOT give them any information until you can verify they are legit.

Some times it is difficult living in these times as a senior….you really do not need some d/bag trying to relieve you of your cash.

BE CAREFUL!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

SCAM Alert!

Us old farts are always trying to be scammed by morons….attempting to access your information so they can screw us out of what little we have.

Recently I got a phone call and the prompt was

“Hello citizen….there is a problem with your social security account and all benefits have been frozen….if you would like more information then…..” and that is where I hang up.

I checked with the SS office and they said that if there was a problem then we would notify you by mail and use your name…..

This scammer tried three times using three different local numbers…..

I gave the numbers to the SS person and hopefully they can track these parasite down and punish them massively.

So please be careful…these asswads are lurking and looking for any chance to slip the screws to you….especially if you are elderly….scammers think we are idiots and that we would worry about our benefits to the point that we would give them a chance to crap on us.

Do not give these people a chance to do the worst to you and your accounts.

Any attempts to access your accounts please let the authorities know immediately….for they will try again.

Hopefully the FCC can get this pack of toads…..

Under a bill Congress passed in 2019, spammers can be fined up to $10,000 for a single robocall. The fine handed out to two Texas-based telemarketers Wednesday worked out to less than 5 cents per robocall, but it was still a new record for the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC says John Spiller and Jakob Mears, who operated under business names including Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, have been fined a record $225 million for sending out around a billion automated calls falsely offering affordable short-term health insurance plans from major companies, KHOU reports.

Officials say Spiller admitted sending out millions of calls a day and said he targeted people registered on Do Not Call lists because he thought it would be more profitable. He also admitted using spoofed numbers, the FCC says. The fine is part of a wider FCC effort to crack down on robocalls, CNBC reports. Officials announced Wednesday that a new Robocall Response Team has been formed with 51 FCC employees who will coordinate anti-robocall efforts with other federal agencies.

BE CAREFUL!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden And Social Security

I realize the Biden has just now started his tenure as president….but that does not mean that I will give him a free ride….there are things that we all need to know about this person and his admin.

Many elderly Americans depend on Social Security for their retirement……and without it about 38% of seniors would fall into poverty.

Will Biden make our Seniors proud in the coming years?

Along with a crippling pandemic and a struggling economy, President Biden inherited another significant challenge:  a Social Security program that needs enhancements to survive and thrive.   Former President Trump promised to “protect” Social Security, but spent four years trying to undermine and cut SSDI – the part of the program that covers workers with disabilities.   Congressional Democrats introduced legislation to strengthen and expand Social Security, but Trump officials and GOP allies on the Hill called for “entitlement reform” immediately after giving the wealthy and big corporations a $2 trillion tax cut.

Contrary to conservative propaganda, Social Security is not “going bankrupt.” But if Congress takes no action, the Social Security trust fund reserves are projected to run dry in 2035, at which time the program still will be able to pay about 80% of promised benefits (an outcome nobody wants). Economic fallout from the COVID pandemic may well drain the trust funds sooner. Fortunately, President Biden has a plan to fortify Social Security for the future while also boosting benefits. It is a commonsense plan that overlaps in important ways with legislation introduced in the last Congress by Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.).

President Biden wants to improve the formula for calculating the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). This year’s COLA was a paltry 1.3%, or about $20 a month for the average beneficiary. Rising prescription drug prices and an increase in the Medicare Part B premium will eat away at that meager amount.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/02/04/biden-presidency-opens-window-expand-strengthen-social-security

This is a policy that I will support if Biden will sure up the Social Security system….

But will the Congress stand in his way?

My guess is there will be massive GOP push back.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”